The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Destruction of Al-Shifa hospital ‘rips heart out of Gaza health system’: WHO
The Israeli military's raid of Al-Shifa hospital in the past two weeks has destroyed Gaza's biggest medical facility, “ripping the heart out” of the enclave's healthcare system, the UN World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
“It was the tertiary care center, it was a huge hospital: 750 beds, 25 operating theaters, 30 intensive care rooms. It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides,” explained Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson.
Israeli special forces left the Gaza City hospital on Monday, after a two-week operation in which they reported the detention of hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants. Israel said Hamas fighters had based themselves there; Hamas and medical staff deny the allegations.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dr Harris said the hospital “directors told us that Al-Shifa hospital has ‘gone’, it’s no longer able to function in any way, shape or form as a hospital. At least 21 patients died during the period of the siege. We also know that the staff had to bring the patients together in a building that wasn't even a clinical building. It was a human resources administration area. They had no water, food, they were sharing one bottle of water between 15 people,” she added.
If permission is granted on Tuesday to reach Al-Shifa and northern Gaza’s last few remaining health facilities, priorities for WHO teams include bringing medicines, fuel and food – and assessing what additional supplies are needed to save the remaining patients. The WHO says the agency has been trying to go “for days and days” and most of the missions have been rejected.
The development comes amid renewed safety concerns for aid operations in the Gaza Strip after World Central Kitchen reported that an Israeli airstrike on one of its vehicles had killed seven aid workers in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Images of the NGO vehicle show a large hole in its roof.
WHO’s Dr Harris maintained that the NGO mission had been agreed with the Israeli authorities ahead of time. “This was an agreed mission with this team, it was ‘de-conflicted’. ‘De-conflicted’ means both sides know they are coming, both sides have agreed. The car was well marked, it was very clear it was World Central Kitchen. Now this is happening,” she said. “And remember, hundreds of health care workers have been killed while doing their job,” along with thousands of civilians, including 13,000 children, amid constant Israeli bombardment launched after Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead and more than 350 taken hostage.
A UN health agency team also intends to visit Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City where there are already dire concerns about the growing number of babies being born too underweight to survive.
The facility is already admitting at least 15 malnourished children per day and the needs are growing, according to the WHO. In a renewed call for a ceasefire, Dr Harris insisted that “the ceasefire, the UN resolution – the world has agreed a ceasefire must happen. It should have happened months ago, but it must happen now.”
Ends
Story: Gaza Al-Shifa hospital destroyed – WHO – 02 April 2024
Speaker is Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson
TRT: 2’04”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 02 April 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley
- Wide shot of Press conference room with journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “The directors told us that Al-Shifa hospital has ‘gone’, that it's no longer able to function in any shape or form as a hospital. We know that at least 21 patients died during the period of the siege. We also know that the staff had to bring the patients together in a building that wasn't even a clinical building. It was a human resources administration area. They had no water, food, they were sharing one bottle of water between 15 people.”
- Medium shot: Press room podium with speakers
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “Destroying Al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system. It was the tertiary care center. It was a huge hospital: 750 beds, 25 operating theaters, 30 intensive care rooms. It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides.”
- Wide shot: Press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “This was an agreed mission with this team, it was ‘de-conflicted’. ‘De-conflicted’ means both sides know they are coming, both sides have agreed. The car was well marked, it was very clear it was World Central Kitchen. Now this is happening. And remember, hundreds of health care workers have been killed while doing their job. Ambulance drivers and, of course, thousands of civilians, more than 13,000 of them children.”
- Wide shot of Press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “The ceasefire, the UN resolution, the world has agreed: a ceasefire must happen. It should have happened months ago, but it must happen now.”
- Various shots of the Press room
Similar Stories
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
ends
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in DR Congo continues to spread across the vast country despite some success in containing it, aid officials said on Tuesday, in a renewed call for international support to help responders on the ground.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WFP
‘Super El Niño’ and converging crises worsen hunger in South Sudan and across the region - WFP
South Sudan’s hunger crisis is becoming increasingly catastrophic as violence, extreme weather and dwindling aid leave millions without enough food, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday.