The Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean of the World Health Organization, Hanan Hassan Balkhi, warned in a statement of the spread of hunger and disease in that coastal enclave.
He stressed, “I reiterate the World Health Organization's calls for all parties to ensure continuous and unhindered access to aid to and through the sector.”
The official highlighted her recent visit to the Rafah border crossing, which connects Egypt to Gaza, and represents the only crossing not controlled by Israel.
He pointed out that since the escalation of hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories, Egypt has played a major role in facilitating the delivery of aid to neighboring territories and providing free medical care and treatment to evacuated patients.
Hassan Balkhi explained that the Egyptian Crescent has 1,500 trucks loaded with aid ready to cross and another thousand ready for Israeli inspection, which is a basic condition for entry.
In this regard, he noted that representatives of that organization criticized “the long and complex inspection process and vague rejection criteria set by the Israeli authorities, which continue to obstruct the flow of aid to Gaza.”
On several occasions, authorities in Cairo accused the neighboring country of obstructing the entry of large quantities of vital products to Gazans in need.
Hassan Balkhi revealed that at Al-Arish General Hospital in the Sinai Peninsula, I spoke to men, women and children suffering from serious injuries ranging from broken bones to explosion injuries and head injuries.
She explained that an 18-year-old girl waited three months to receive treatment for a broken leg, and a mother has twins who were born in Gaza during the war, and one of them is now awaiting urgent heart surgery in Egypt.
The World Health Organization official indicated that she also spoke with “elderly people who suffered from chronic diseases and were unable to obtain treatment for many weeks before their evacuation and who are now suffering from the consequences.”
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