GENEVA, December 12, 2025 (WAFA) – Speaking from Gaza, Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory for the World Health Programme (WHO), Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, explained that 18 out of 36 hospitals and 43 percent of primary health-care centers in Gaza were partially functioning. For instance, despite immense challenges, Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was working again as a partially functional tertiary care hospital, with many services now functional.
“On the other hand, there was no MRI available in Gaza and only two CT scanners to cover a population of over two million,” he said.
He continued: “There was also a severe shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies needed for, among other things, heart disease treatment, kidney transplantation and hemodialysis, and intensive care surgery. Although approval rates for supplies had improved, the process of getting medicines and medical equipment into Gaza remained unnecessarily slow and complex.”
WHO also faced challenges in bringing laboratory reagents and critical lab machine components into Gaza. Many items were denied entry because of being classified as “dual use”. Medical supplies must be given a blanket approval to enter Gaza and be expedited so urgent needs could be addressed, he added.
He said: “It was in this context that Storm Byron had struck Gaza, deepening the suffering of already displaced families. Thousands of them were sheltering in coastal areas with no drainage or protective barriers. Along the Khan Younis shoreline alone, more than 4,000 people were living in high-risk zones. At least ten people had reportedly died in the past 24 hours due to heavy rains. There also had been reports of two babies or children under five having died from hypothermia this week.”
Winter conditions, combined with poor water and sanitation, were expected to drive a surge in acute respiratory infections, hepatitis and diarrheal diseases. Children, older people, and those with chronic illnesses remained at the greatest risk. This winter, WHO was working to help keep newborns, children, and mothers warm and safe in hospitals. WHO was also supplying breastfeeding support items and materials for skin-to-skin care to protect pre-term and low-birth-weight infants during the harsh winter months.
According to Ministry of Health records, 1,092 patients had died while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and 28 November 2025. This figure was likely underreported and not fully representative, as it was based solely on reported deaths. More than 18,500 patients (including 4,096 children) in Gaza still need medical evacuation. WHO called on more countries to welcome patients from Gaza, and for medical evacuation to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, to be restored.
Answering questions, Dr Peeperkorn expressed concern that, in the winter and with poor shelter conditions, children under five would be particularly exposed to acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia, and diarrheal diseases.
Dr. Peeperkorn pointed to shortages in medicines, surgery equipment, and medical imaging. He also stressed that more than a quarter of the 70,000 Gazans who had been injured would need lifelong assistive technology. According to UNICEF, 82 children had been killed since 10 October, he noted.
Dr. Peeperkorn said he had been working for WHO in the region since March 2021. During the crisis, the health system and services had, somehow, remained at least partially functional — a credit to the health workers, the Ministry of Health, and WHO. This resilience had come at an enormous material and human cost, including for WHO. Dr. Peeperkorn emphasized both the quality of the health staff on the ground and their ingenuity in overcoming shortages.
T.R.
