The World Health Organisation pleaded with Israel to allow the WHO and other UN agencies access to deliver aid within the Gaza Strip, branding the humanitarian situation “indescribable”.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday local time that its teams have had to cancel six planned missions to northern Gaza since December 26 “because our requests were rejected and assurances of safe passage were not provided”, while a mission planned for Wednesday was also called off.

“Delivering humanitarian aid in Gaza continues to face nearly insurmountable challenges,” he told a press conference.

“Intense bombardment, restrictions on movement, fuel shortages, and interrupted communications make it impossible for WHO and our partners to reach those in need.

“We have the supplies, the teams and the plans in place. What we don’t have is access.

“We call on Israel to approve requests by WHO and other partners to deliver humanitarian aid.” Tedros said only 15 hospitals in the Palestinian territory were functioning even partially, while the lack of clean water and sanitation, and overcrowded living conditions in the coastal strip were creating the ideal environment for diseases to spread.

“People are standing in line for hours for a small amount of water, which may not be clean, or bread, which alone is not sufficiently nutritious,” he said.

The bloodiest ever Gaza war started by the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attack on Israel has raged on for more than three months and killed more than 23,000 people in the besieged Palestinian territory, according to its health ministry.

The Hamas attack resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians.

Militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom Israel says 132 remain in Gaza including at least 25 believed to have been killed.

Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign.

– with AFP