Israel-Hamas war: Gaza's hospitals overwhelmed, says WHO

World Health Organization emergency medical coordinator Sean Casey said "a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding" in Gaza.

He told DW that he witnessed "an enormous number of casualties" in Gaza as well as a healthcare system that was crumbling "at a very rapid pace" during a recent trip to the besieged territory.

In addition to the fighting, the large-scale displacement of civilians in Gaza has seen some hospitals lose vital staff while other hospitals become overburdened with patients.

Casey said that the few hospitals that remained open were increasingly unable to meet the humanitarian needs of Palestinians amid the ongoing fighting.

"The Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis is one of the the major hospitals in Gaza, and it's one of the few remaining major trauma centers," he said.

"When I was there just over a week ago, they were at 200% of their normal bed capacity and already running with only about 30% of their staff present, and more have now fled. It has enormous consequences."

This means patients requiring routine medical care like antenatal treatment for pregnant women or kidney dialysis cannot get the care that they need, he said.

Casey added that patients with gunshot wounds, shrapnel injuries and crush trauma in particular need a clean environment to recover after treatment.

"So I expect we'll see more post-operative infections," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised news conference that Israel would not halt its offensive until it achieves its goals of destroying the Hamas militant group in Gaza.

"We will not settle for anything short of an absolute victory," Netanyahu said, rejecting claims by a growing chorus of Israeli critics that those goals are not achievable.

Netanyahu vowed to press on with the war in Gaza in the coming months. His comments came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel would never have "genuine security" without a pathway toward Palestinian independence. 

"We obviously see it differently," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, referring to Netanyahu's comments about pressing on with the war.

At least 24,620 Palestinians, around 70% of them women, children and adolescents, have died in Gaza, according to the latest Health Ministry figures in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, and the US among others.

Residents in Khan Younis reported intense bombardment of the city in southern Gaza, including around areas around the main hospital.

The Israeli military said a brigade in Khan Younis, now operating further south than troops had ventured before, had "eliminated dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat and with the assistance of tank fire and air support."

It said it had killed 60 fighters in the previous 24 hours, including 40 in Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled fighting in the north of the Gaza Strip have taken refuge.

Israeli forces launched ground operations in Khan Younis in early December.

Israel's military said it had completed dismantling Hamas' command structure in northern Gaza earlier in January. 

The European Parliament has called for a permanent cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and the restart of efforts for a political solution, but only if hostages held in the besieged Palestinian enclave are released and Hamas is dismantled.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, Germany and others.

In a resolution, European Parliament lawmakers reiterated Israel's right to defend itself but condemned its disproportionate military response in Gaza.

They underlined the urgent need for full humanitarian access to and throughout the entire Gaza Strip.

EU lawmakers also called for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories and stressed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, are illegal under international law.

The resolution was backed by 312 lawmakers, with 131 voting against and 72 abstaining. It will be forwarded to other EU institutions, EU member states, the Israeli government, Palestinian bodies, Egypt and the United Nations.

European Parliament resolutions have no binding power but are designed to signal the view of Europeans and have sometimes triggered stern foreign reactions.

In October, lawmakers condemned Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, while also calling for a "humanitarian pause."

Israel should allow displaced Palestinians in Gaza to return to their homes, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said at a joint press conference with Turkey's counterpart Hakan Fidan in Amman.

According to Safadi, it was essential to end the war in Gaza and avert an escalation of violence in the wider region.

"With regard to the current priorities, they are clear: ending the aggression in Gaza, letting in sufficient permanent humanitarian aid to all parts of the Strip, south and north, stopping the destruction, and working immediately for the return of displaced Gazans to their areas and homes," Safadi said.

Over two million people have been displaced by war, according to the United Nations. Some prominent Israeli politicians have questioned whether Gaza's population should be allowed to return home.

Israel is “praying” an emergency shipment of medicine brought to the Gaza border through Egypt will reach hostages held by Hamas in the besieged Palestinian enclave, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, also repeated his government's stand that Hamas should not be able to rule and function as a military force in the Gaza Strip after the war. The group is listed as a terrorist organization by the EU, Germany and others.

While saying he was not shying away from the "human tragedy" inflicted on Gaza civilians, Herzog cast the Israeli offensive as a step towards more peaceful relations with the Palestinians in the future, and as bolstering global security.

Herzog called on world powers to help in Gaza once the war has concluded, and said that before the Hamas attack, Israel had been on a path to establishing relations with Saudi Arabia after doing so in 2020 with Gulf neighbors United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

The Indian Navy said on Thursday it had rescued the crew of a US-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden after an attack by Yemen's Houthis.

It said a distress call from MV Genco Picardy was issued late on Wednesday and the navy diverted a warship to the rescue of 22 crew on board, including nine Indians.

The Houthi movement said its missiles had made a "direct hit" on the bulk carrier.

Shipping operator Genco confirmed the attack, and said its vessel was hit by a projectile while it was transiting through the Gulf of Aden with a cargo of phosphate rock.

The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and have threatened to expand their attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. 

Weather disruptions at ports in northern Europe and ships being diverted from the Red Sea are causing container terminal congestion, shipping company A.P. Moller-Maersk said.

Maersk and other shipping groups have diverted vessels away from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden following attacks by Yemen's Houthis, sending them on a long journey around Africa rather than through the Suez Canal shortcut.

In northern Europe, winter storms and the effects of the recent holiday season have led to terminal closures and navigation stoppages, the company said. 

The company encouraged customers to prepare for continued complications in the area and for and significant disruptions to the global network.

Maersk said it also offers customers the option to shift some cargo from vessels to air freight at ports in Oman and the United Arab Emirates to fly goods to final destinations in Europe or the United States.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at the World Economic Forum, watch it here: 

Gaza's remaining hospitals can't cope with the number of wounded people, a World Health Organization (WHO) emergency health expert said.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza estimates that more than 60,000 people have been wounded since the war began, with hundreds more injured per day.

"Literally five or six doctors or nurses" are seeing hundreds of patients a day, Emergency Medical Team coordinator Sean Casey said. 

There were "so many patients on the floor you could barely move without stepping on somebody's hands or feet," Casey, who recently spent five weeks in the war-torn Palestinian territory, added.

Al-Shifa Hospital, once Gaza's leading hospital with 700 beds, has been reduced to treating only emergency trauma victims and is filled with thousands of people who have fled their homes and are now living in operating rooms, corridors, and stairs, he said.

Gaza historically had a robust health system with 36 hospitals, 25,000 health workers, and many specialists, Casey said, but 85% of the territory's 2.3 million people are now displaced, and that includes health workers, doctors, nurses, surgeons, and administrative staff.

According to the WHO only 15 of 36 hospitals are functioning, and all of these only partially functioning.

Pakistan said it has launched retaliatory missile strikes on insurgent groups in Iran.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said "a number of terrorists were killed in the Siestan-o-Baluchistan province of Iran."

It comes two days after Tehran attacked "terrorist targets" inside the South Asian country.

The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The US military said its forces struck 14 missile sites in Houthi-controlled sites in Yemen.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Houthi missiles presented an "imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region."

The sites were struck by Tomahawk missiles fired from US Navy vessels.

The Houthis, who control large swathes of Yemen, have launched attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November. 

The militants have said their attacks on shipping are aimed at supporting the Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza, which began after Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israel.

Meanwhile, the US added the Houthis to its list of terrorist groups.

The designation will lead to stringent financial sanctions on the Iran-backed militant group.

US officials said the move was aimed at cutting off their funding and weapons.