WHO Condemns Attacks on Gaza Staff Compound, Calls for Immediate Ceasefire

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a strongly worded condemnation following a series of violent assaults on its staff compound and key operational facilities in Deir al Balah, Gaza, amid escalating hostilities. The attacks have endangered humanitarian personnel, severely disrupted aid operations, and pushed Gaza’s already devastated health system further toward collapse.

Multiple Attacks on WHO Staff Housing and Detention of Personnel

On the day of the incident, WHO’s staff residence in Deir al Balah was struck three times amid intensified fighting following the latest Israeli military evacuation order. The building, which housed WHO personnel and their families — including children — was subjected to airstrikes that triggered fire and significant structural damage.

Israeli troops reportedly entered the premises, forcing women and children to flee on foot toward the designated “safe zone” of Al-Mawasi, even as conflict continued in the area. Male staff members and relatives were handcuffed, stripped of their clothing, interrogated at gunpoint, and screened. Of those detained, two WHO staff and two family members were taken into custody. While three were later released, one WHO staff member remains in detention.

WHO reports that a total of 32 individuals, including vulnerable women and children, were eventually evacuated to the WHO office in a high-risk mission. However, the WHO office itself lies dangerously close to the expanded evacuation zone and is at risk of future attacks.

“These were clearly marked UN premises, whose geographical coordinates had already been shared with all relevant parties,” WHO stressed in a public statement. “Any attack on these facilities constitutes a direct threat to the humanitarian health response in Gaza.”

WHO Warehouse Damaged, Looted Amid Growing Desperation

Adding to the crisis, WHO’s main medical warehouse in Deir al Balah — a critical lifeline for hospitals and emergency teams — was heavily damaged in an earlier airstrike that caused explosions and fire within the facility. Shortly afterward, the warehouse was looted by desperate civilians, reflecting the deepening humanitarian emergency.

This warehouse was a central storage hub for dwindling medical supplies, fuel, and equipment needed to sustain emergency operations in Gaza. Its destruction and loss of inventory mark a devastating blow to WHO’s ability to support emergency rooms, trauma care units, and health workers already under siege across the territory.

Humanitarian Space Shrinking, Health System on the Brink

According to WHO, 88% of Gaza is now under evacuation orders or militarized control, leaving virtually no safe space for civilians or humanitarian agencies. Health care workers and aid providers are being forced to operate in increasingly dangerous and unpredictable conditions, with red lines repeatedly crossed.

The current level of hostilities and the systematic destruction of health infrastructure have left WHO and other humanitarian actors struggling to maintain even minimum health service delivery.

Despite these challenges, WHO has declared its commitment to remain operational in Deir al Balah in accordance with the UN’s decision to continue delivering aid where possible. But the risks continue to mount, and the window to prevent large-scale loss of life is narrowing rapidly.

Urgent Calls for Action

In its statement, WHO issued several urgent appeals:

• Immediate release of the WHO staff member still detained

• Continuous protection for humanitarian staff and their facilities

• Respect for international humanitarian law, including the protection of health workers and medical infrastructure

• Unimpeded and sustained flow of humanitarian aid — including food, fuel, and health supplies — across Gaza

• The unconditional release of all hostages

• An immediate ceasefire

“This isn’t just about humanitarian space being restricted — it’s about survival being denied,” WHO said. “Life in Gaza is being relentlessly squeezed, and the chance to reverse the immense damage to the health system is slipping out of reach each day.”

Global Concern and Mounting Pressure

WHO’s statement has heightened international scrutiny of the worsening crisis in Gaza, where the health system has collapsed, and over 2 million people are living under siege-like conditions, often without reliable access to clean water, medical care, food, or shelter.

The attacks on humanitarian personnel come amid growing calls from UN agencies, civil society organizations, and human rights advocates for a ceasefire and accountability for violations of international law.

In what WHO calls “an ever-shrinking humanitarian space,” aid workers and civilians alike are being subjected to conditions that no longer allow for safe, effective emergency response — a reality that, according to WHO, “should alarm the conscience of the world.”