World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said on Friday, November 1, Israel’s decision to restrict UNRWA’s operations contravened Israel’s responsibilities
He told a news briefing that this legislation jeopardised the “lives and health of all who depend on these essential services.”
“This ban will not make Israel safer. It will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks,” he said in the news briefing.
Leaders from the United Nations and several European countries reacted on social media, after Israel passed the law on Monday (October 28) banning the United Nations agency from operating in the country — legislation that could impact its work in war-torn Gaza.
Ghebreyesus added that the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign, set to begin on Saturday (November 2) in northern Gaza, was postponed “due to intense bombardment, mass evacuation orders and lack of access or assurance is of humanitarian pause.”
The polio campaign began on Sept. 1 after the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed in August that a baby has been partially paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
