WHO: The occupation forces bombed our headquarters in Deir al-Balah and arrested our staff under threat.

The World Health Organization accused the Israeli military of launching direct attacks on its staff residence and main warehouse in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on Monday, posing a grave risk to the lives of staff and negatively impacting the organization's ability to continue providing health services in the Strip.

The organization reported that the staff residence was attacked three times, causing fires and significant material damage. Israeli military forces forcibly entered the building, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot amid active clashes. Male staff members and their family members were handcuffed, stripped naked, and interrogated at gunpoint.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explained that two WHO staff members and two of their relatives were arrested, three of whom were later released, while one remains in detention. He emphasized that the organization demands the immediate release of the detained staff member and full protection for all its employees.

Ghebreyesus noted that these attacks followed Israeli evacuation orders for multiple areas in Deir al-Balah, which also impacted the organization's health facilities, particularly the main warehouse, which sustained extensive damage in an attack that resulted in explosions and fires, severely crippling the organization's ability to deliver support to hospitals and emergency teams.

He added that the extensive Israeli attacks on Deir al-Balah neighborhoods, which are home to tens of thousands of displaced people, targeted homes and mosques, resulting in deaths and injuries. Entire families were displaced to safer areas amid the heavy bombardment, particularly in the areas of Abu Holi, east of al-Barakah, and west of it.

Ghebreyesus stressed that Gaza's health sector is facing imminent collapse, with medical supplies and fuel running out. He emphasized that a ceasefire has become an urgent humanitarian necessity, not just a political demand, and called on UN member states to take urgent action to ensure the continued flow of medical aid into Gaza.

This comes as the Israeli military intensifies its operations in Deir al-Balah, with tanks penetrating the eastern and southern areas for the first time since the start of the ground offensive, allegedly to search for hostages. Meanwhile, air and artillery attacks continue, causing widespread destruction and worsening humanitarian suffering.