Gaza aid delay causes chronic shortage of medical supplies, WHO says

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed deep concern over the chronic shortage of medical supplies in Gaza, caused by repeated delays in delivering humanitarian aid through Israel. Reinhilde Van de Weerdt, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories, highlighted that the health situation in Gaza remains dire, with none of its hospitals fully functional.

She stated that insufficient humanitarian aid is entering Gaza, and this is not enough to allow for a meaningful expansion and restoration of health services. Van de Weerdt attributed the problem to Israel's approval system for medical and other humanitarian supplies, which is laborious, time-consuming and often yields no guaranteed results.

According to her latest analysis, large volumes of medical supplies await clearance for an average of 74 days. This lengthy approval process often has to be repeated, as the system keeps changing with new regulations being introduced. Standard health kits used worldwide have the lowest approval rate, while essential equipment like X-ray machines, sterilisation equipment and spare parts for CT scans regularly get rejected.

Despite this, medicines are moving relatively well, with nearly 87 percent approved and only 1 percent rejected. However, Van de Weerdt emphasized that the issue is not a single blockage, but a system layered with delay after delay. Every delay puts a patient waiting for essential medical supplies at risk. She stressed the urgent need for unimpeded and predictable entry of humanitarian and health supplies into Gaza at scale.