GAZA CITY, Palestine 

The Israeli army blocked a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation from evacuating sick children from hospitals in northern Gaza amid the worsening situation due to ongoing military operations in the area, now in their sixth day, a senior Gaza health official said Friday. 

Deputy Health Minister Maher Shamiya told Anadolu: “The army turned back the WHO delegation tasked with evacuating intensive care patients and children from northern hospitals, preventing them from reaching the northern part of the Gaza Strip.”

Anadolu has been unable to obtain a comment from WHO regarding the Israeli obstruction.

Shamiya highlighted that the three hospitals in northern Gaza (Al-Awda, the Indonesian Hospital, and Kamal Adwan) are currently treating 124 patients, including 13 in intensive care and eight children.

“Kamal Adwan Hospital has the largest pediatric intensive care unit in the Gaza and North Gaza governorates, and it is at risk of being shut down due to Israeli attacks,” he added.

Shamiya confirmed that for the fifth time since the military operation began last Sunday, the Israeli army has blocked fuel trucks from entering Gaza and northern hospitals.

He noted that hospitals are facing a severe crisis due to an impending fuel shortages needed to power generators, which could halt operations in intensive care units and operating rooms.

He also pointed out that the Jabalia refugee camp is completely surrounded, and movement within its streets is nearly impossible.

“The army shoots at anything that moves, making it extremely difficult to retrieve the dead and provide medical aid to the wounded.”

Shamiya called for urgent international and UN intervention to end the siege and allow the entry of fuel and medical supplies into Gaza's northern hospitals.

On Tuesday, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that the Israeli army had warned the three hospitals to evacuate staff and patients, threatening killing, destruction, and arrest, similar to the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital several months ago.

The announcement comes after the Israeli army launched a military operation in Jabalia on Sunday, claiming the need to prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.

This followed intense strikes on northern Gaza’s eastern and western regions, the heaviest since May.

The Israeli military warned Palestinians to evacuate their homes in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia and move south, while Gaza’s Interior and National Security Ministry cautioned against complying with these orders, calling them “deception and lies.”

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas last October.

More than 42,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.   

*Writing by Mohammad Sio