Source: Xinhua
Editor: huaxia
2025-07-05 00:36:15
GENEVA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- A large number of wounded people are admitted daily to Nasser Hospital in the Gaza Strip, most of whom come from areas near aid distribution points run by the non-UN Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Friday.
Speaking via video link at a press briefing in Geneva, Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, said Nasser Hospital was originally a general hospital. However, due to the growing number of casualties and an acute shortage of medical supplies, it has been forced to make "a difficult choice."
The hospital now prioritizes trauma patients and has suspended outpatient services for those with chronic illnesses. It has effectively become "one massive trauma ward," he said.
Peeperkorn stressed that information from the wounded themselves, their families and friends, as well as medical staff, indicates that the majority of casualties are indeed from areas near the aid distribution points operated by the GHF.
The GHF is operated by U.S. security contractors and is approved by the Israeli government. For the past month, GHF has operated only four militarized distribution sites in all of Gaza -- as opposed to the traditional UN-led 400 community-located aid hubs.
GHF has faced mounting criticism for poor management and operational chaos. Speaking at the briefing, Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said that as of June 27, at least 613 people had been killed in attacks near aid distribution points in Gaza. Of those, 509 died in the vicinity of distribution sites operated by the GHF. ■