GENEVA

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said a humanitarian corridor in besieged Gaza is necessary to provide medical services, supplies and protect civilians.

"We need a corridor to provide medical services. One, is to protect civilians. And second, to provide them with the support they need, be it food, medical services, supplies," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Lyon, France where he attended a WHO Academy ceremony.

"I think those who need support should be supported and those who need protection should be protected," Tedros said, adding that he came back from Cairo on Wednesday, where he met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and agreed on transferring medical supplies to Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel on Saturday, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the offensive was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

More than 2,700 people have been killed since the outbreak of the conflict on Saturday, including over 1,400 Palestinians and 1,300 Israelis.