The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that a contingency plan was in place in the event of an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza, but added that such a plan would not be enough to prevent “expected additional deaths”.
“Of course, we are making contingency plans to ensure that the health system is prepared and can continue to provide care,” spokesman Richard Peeperkorn told a UN press briefing in Geneva.
He added that the contingency plan is ancillary and will absolutely not prevent the expected significant, additional mortality caused by the military operation.
“The military operation will lead to a new wave of displacement, more overcrowding, less access to food, water and sanitation,” he added.
He also said that the WHO is “extremely concerned” that due to a possible military operation in Rafah, “the crossing will be closed.”
He added that as part of the plan for emergency situations, the agency and its partners advocate that “whatever happens, the crossing will remain open” because it is at the center of the humanitarian operation.
Regarding malnutrition, the spokesman said there was a slight improvement in the availability and variety of food.
Israel has launched a brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, since which more than 34,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 77,800 wounded.
Israel’s war has pushed 85 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip into internal displacement with acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.
Israel is accused of genocide before the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop the genocidal acts and take measures to ensure humanitarian aid is provided to civilians in Gaza.
