"[The WHO] has received troubling reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area of Gaza, which according to the facility's director forced over 600 patients and most health workers to leave. Their locations are not currently known," Tedros said on X on Sunday.
The WHO chief also said that the UN health agency had to cancel its another mission in the northern Gaza Strip because of dangerous conditions and the lack of necessary permissions, adding that there were no fully-functioning medical facilities in the enclave's north.
At the same time, the WHO's office in the occupied Palestinian territory said it had canceled a planned mission to the Al-Awda hospital and a central pharmacy in northern Gaza for the fourth time since December 26 after failing to receive "deconfliction and safety guarantees."
"The mission planned to move urgently needed medical supplies to sustain the operations of five hospitals in the north, including Al-Awda," the WHO's office said on X.
It has now been 12 days since the organization was last able to operate in the northern Gaza Strip, it added.
On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip, while its fighters breached the border, opening fire on the military and civilians. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 22,800 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1.