The staff quarters and warehouses of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Gaza have been hit by an Israeli attack, the UN organization reports. During the raid, male employees were stripped and handcuffed.
The WHO’s largest warehouse was destroyed in the attack, the organization writes on X. It was then looted by “a desperate group of people”.
Israeli soldiers also entered the staff quarters and forced those present to leave on foot. According to the WHO, male employees were first “handcuffed, stripped and interrogated under threat of firearms”.
Two employees and two family members were arrested. Three of the four people were later released. One WHO employee is still being held.
The buildings of the United Nations organization are located in Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip. Israel began a new offensive in that area on Monday. Last weekend, Israel ordered the evacuation of the area. At that time, tens of thousands of Palestinians were still there.
‘Systematic destruction of health facilities’
The WHO speaks of “a pattern” in which Israel “systematically destroys health facilities.” The organization says it is now even more limited in providing assistance. Previously, aid workers were already struggling with shortages of medicines, fuel and equipment.
Despite the attack, the WHO says it will continue its activities in Gaza, including in Deir al-Balah. That was for a long time one of the last resorts and houses several aid organizations. “But now that 88 percent of Gaza is under evacuation order or in areas militarized by Israel, there is no safe place to go,” the organization writes.