TRANSCRIPT
"The reality here is that we are breaking the bodies and the minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza, because if we don't do something about it, we are complicit in what is happening before our very eyes. We are complicit. We are causing this. You, us, and everyone who does nothing about it. It's horrific."
That's the executive director of the World Health Organisation's emergency programs, Michael Ryan, at a UN Press conference discussing the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Since March 2, Israel has blocked the entry of medical, fuel, and food supplies into Gaza.
Mr Ryan who is also a doctor, says the current level of malnutrition in Gaza is causing a collapse in immunity.
He warns that cases of pneumonia and meningitis in women and children could increase as a result.
He says he is angry with himself, with the world, with everyone.
"As a doctor, as a physician, as someone watching, more than 1,000 children without limbs. Thousands of children with spinal cord injuries or severe head injuries from which they'll never recover. Thousands and thousands of children with severe psychological distress that they may never recover from. We are watching this unfold before our very eyes and we're not doing anything about it. And as a physician, I'm angry; I'm angry with myself that I'm not doing enough. I'm angry with everyone here. I'm angry with you. I'm angry with the world. This should not be happening. It cannot continue. We have to stop. And I'm glad someone asked the question. But this is an abomination. It's an abomination."
Israel has previously denied that Gaza was facing a hunger crisis.
And it has not made clear when and how aid will be resumed.
Israel's military accuses Hamas of diverting aid, which Hamas denies.
Speaking at the same briefing, the WHO director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, says that global health funding is facing historic challenges as donor countries reduce their contributions.
"Of course, donor countries can spend their money where they want and they have the right to spend it the way they want, and we're grateful to those that have for decades funded health systems globally. But instead of an orderly decline or orderly withdrawal, the abrupt cuts to overseas development aid and in a changing economic and trade environment are sowing chaos in public health."
United States President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the WHO upon taking office in January, saying the health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
The US is by far the U-N health agency's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding.
The WHO revised downwards its budget after the US's withdrawal exacerbated a funding crisis due to member states reducing their development spending.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump says he's working hard to save Edan Alexander, a 21-year-old Israeli-American soldier held hostage in Gaza.
Alexander, who was taken by Hamas during the October 7 attacks on Israel, is reportedly the last living American being held captive by the militant group.
Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, Mr Trump told Alexander's parents who were present in the garden that the U-S was doing everything to rescue their son.
"But we're all alongside of you. We stand by you. And we're going to, we're going to do everything possible in the very short period of time. You know, as you know, things are heating up there. I've gotten a lot of hostages out. We were getting nobody out. A lot of them are out. But they want to do it as slowly as possible because they use them as pawns. It's a horrible thing, but we're working very, very hard to save your son."
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, more than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7th of October, a figure Israel disputes, saying many of the dead were militants.
Around 1200 Israelis were killed when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel says its offensive is aimed at dismantling Hamas and freeing the remaining hostages, 59 still in captivity, with fewer than 24 believed to be alive.
