WHO plane carrying medical supplies for people of Gaza lands in Egypt

CAIRO: A World Health Organization (WHO) plane carrying medical supplies to support urgent health needs in Gaza has landed at Al-Arish airport in Egypt. The medical supplies will be delivered to Gaza to meet critical health needs as soon as humanitarian access through the Rafah crossing is established. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his call on Israel to reconsider its decision to evacuate 1.1 million people in Gaza. His remarks come after Israeli Defence Forces urged residents of Gaza to move from the northern part to the southern part of the enclave.

Taking to X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, "A plane with @WHO medical supplies to support the urgent health needs in Gaza has landed in Al Arish, #Egypt - close to the Rafah crossing. We're ready to deploy the supplies as soon as humanitarian access through the crossing is established. We continue our plea to Israel to reconsider the decision to evacuate 1.1 million people. It will be a human tragedy." The plane carrying 78 cubic metres of health supplies includes enough trauma medicines and health supplies to treat 1,200 wounded patients and 1,500 patients suffering from heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory problems, and basic essential health supplies to serve the needs of 300,000 people, including pregnant women, the World Health Organisation announced in a press release.

"They also include trauma pouches with enough medicines and supplies to treat 235 wounded people. With hospitals in Gaza either nonfunctional or overwhelmed, and movement restricted due to fighting, these will enable injured people to be stabilized and receive immediate, lifesaving care anywhere it is needed," the WHO said in a statement. The WHO stated, "Every hour these supplies remain on the Egyptian side of the border, more girls and boys, women, and men, especially those vulnerable or disabled, will die while supplies that can save them are less than 20 kilometres (12 miles) away."

According to the statement, WHO will work with the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies to ensure transportation and delivery of the supplies through Egypt and into Gaza. On October 9, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who agreed to a WHO's request to facilitate the delivery of health and other humanitarian supplies from WHO to Gaza via the Rafah crossing. The WHO noted that the Egyptian side of the crossing is accessible while the Israeli side remains closed.

At least 1,900 people have been killed and 7,696 others have been injured in Gaza since Hamas launched its attack on Israel on October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, CNN reported. The death toll includes 614 children and 370 women, according to officials. Amid its ongoing counter-offensive against Hamas, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has asked residents of the Northern Gaza Strip to relocate to the southern part of the enclave using evacuation corridors between 10 am to 4 pm (local time), The Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli military said, "If you care about yourself and your loved ones, go south as instructed." It further said, "Rest assured that Hamas leaders have taken care of themselves and are taking cover from strikes in the region." The message indicated that the IDF could be readying to launch a ground invasion in response to Hamas's attack on October 7. The IDF has notified the United Nations that the entire Palestinian population north of Wadi Gaza should move to the southern strip, according to The Times of Israel report.

The Israeli Air Force has said that the IDF continues the effort to move the residents of the Gaza Strip in order to protect them in the Gaza Strip. In a post on X, the Israeli Air Force stated, "During the last few days, the IDF called on the residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes, in light of the military activity taking place in the area, as a response to the terrorist actions of Hamas."

It further said, "The call was sent out using a variety of different means in an attempt to minimize the harm to non-combatants. Hamas terrorists are hiding in terror tunnels located under the houses in Gaza City and in civilian buildings."