WHO chief warns the ‘future of a generation in peril’ as Gaza famine looms
Al Jazeera
WHO chief Tedros says children in Gaza are dying of malnutrition and has urged Israel to facilitate entry of more aid.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that only the expansion of land crossings for aid deliveries into Gaza could help prevent famine in the densely populated Palestinian enclave.
“Recent efforts to deliver food by air and sea are welcome, but only the expansion of land crossings will enable large scale deliveries to prevent famine,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday.
Children are dying from the effects of malnutrition and disease, and from a lack of adequate water and sanitation, Tedros said.
“The future of an entire generation is in serious peril,” he said. “Once again, we ask Israel to open more crossings and accelerate the entry and delivery of water, food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid into and within Gaza.”
Countries including Jordan and the United States have been air-dropping aid along the coastline of the besieged Gaza Strip, but the method has proved to be both costly and ineffective.
