Infectious diseases 'spiralling out of control' in Gaza: WHO

Three of the four bodies of Israeli hostages in Gaza returned by Hamas late on october 14 have been identified, according to their families following forensic confirmation of their identities. [AFP]

The World Health Organization has warned that infectious diseases are "spiralling out of control" in the Gaza Strip, with only 13 of the Palestinian territory's 36 hospitals even partially functioning.

"Whether meningitis... diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, we're talking about a mammoth amount of work," Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the United Nations' health body, told AFP in Cairo.

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has raised hopes of life-saving aid and healthcare finally reaching Palestinians in Gaza after two years of war, but Balkhy warned the challenges are "unimaginable".

"We need more fuel to go into Gaza, we need more food, more medical equipment, medications, medics, doctors," she said in an interview on Wednesday, echoing demands by international leaders for Israel to allow in a massive increase of aid.

WHO data shows there are only eight health facilities, all of them partially functioning, in Gaza City -- the territory's main urban hub.

The organisation says the hospitals still standing are suffering dire shortages of medical personnel, who have themselves faced famine and Israel's relentless offensive, which has claimed nearly 68,000 lives according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers those figures reliable.

For Balkhy, when people talk about repairing Gaza's devastated hospitals, "the question is how many of them are available for rehabilitation versus (having to) rebuild all over again?"

"We're talking about billions of dollars, and we're talking about decades of work," she said, after the territory's healthcare was essentially "dismantled".

Very little left

Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which sparked the war, Gaza's health facilities have suffered more than 800 attacks, according to UN data.

"There is very little left of the healthcare system. You have children that were born over the past two years, who many of them, I'm assuming, have received zero doses of immunisations."

The UN says nearly 42,000 people are suffering life-changing injuries, a quarter of them children.

Balkhy called for patients to be able to once again "access the West Bank and Jerusalem, so that they can get the care that is available right close by, and that's the place where they used to go for care".

Israel has severely limited permits for Palestinians to leave Gaza throughout the war, making medical evacuations nearly impossible.

Mental health needs, on the other hand, have more than doubled among the more than two million Palestinians trapped under bombardment for two years, according to the WHO.

Over one million people require "urgent support", but available care falls far short.

"We're really hoping that the peace is fully sustained, so that we can start," Balkhy said.