Trending 
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has strongly criticised Israeli forces for targeting its facilities in Gaza, amid mounting international pressure for a ceasefire as Israel broadens its military campaign into the central city of Deir el-Balah.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that Israeli troops stormed a staff accommodation site, forcing women and children to flee on foot and detaining male staff members at gunpoint, where they were reportedly handcuffed, stripped, and interrogated.
In a separate incident, Israel struck the WHO’s main warehouse in Deir el-Balah. Dr Tedros took to X (formerly Twitter) to call for an urgent ceasefire, stressing that it was not only necessary but long overdue.
The condemnation came as 25 Western nations—including the UK, France, Canada, Australia, and the European Union—issued a joint statement denouncing the worsening humanitarian crisis and calling for an immediate end to hostilities. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths,” the statement said, urging a negotiated truce, the release of hostages, and unimpeded aid access.
Deir el-Balah, which had not seen large-scale operations until now, came under intense Israeli bombardment following military warnings for civilians to evacuate. The UN estimates that up to 80,000 people were present in the area at the time of the order.
Local resident Abdullah Abu Saleem, 48, described the overnight shelling as so severe it felt like an earthquake. Others, like 50-year-old Hamdi Abu Mughseeb, said they were fleeing yet again, uncertain of where safety could be found. “There is no safe place anywhere in Gaza,” he said.
The joint Western statement also criticised Israel’s approach to aid delivery, calling it “dangerous” and degrading to Gazans. Since late May, the UN has documented the deaths of 875 Palestinians trying to access food, amid what humanitarian agencies describe as a “drip-feeding” of assistance.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm through his spokesperson over the deteriorating humanitarian conditions, citing increasing reports of malnourished children and adults.
As Israeli tanks pushed into Deir el-Balah, Gaza’s civil defence agency reported dozens of families trapped by shelling. Plumes of smoke were seen rising from multiple locations, as the territory faced what observers describe as an increasingly unliveable situation.
Nearly 88 percent of Gaza is now covered by evacuation orders or militarised zones, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Displacement is a near-universal experience for residents, many of whom have been forced to move multiple times since the war began.
The families of remaining hostages expressed deep concern over the military escalation in Deir el-Balah, fearing it could jeopardise the lives of the 49 captives still held in Gaza, including 27 confirmed dead.
The conflict has claimed at least 59,029 Palestinian lives—predominantly civilians—according to Gaza’s health ministry. Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack killed 1,219 people in Israel, according to Israeli figures.
