WHO to prepare evacuation of remaining al-Shifa patients within 72 hours

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it is preparing to evacuate patients and staff at al-Shifa Hospital to other medical facilities in southern Gaza.

The evacuation would take place over the next 24-72 hours, "pending guarantees of safe passage by parties to the conflict", WHO said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The announcement comes after WHO personnel visited the hospital, where after its assessment it called al-Shifa a "death zone".

"Lack of clean water, fuel, medicines, food and other essential aid over the last six weeks have caused Al-Shifa Hospital—once the largest, most advanced, and best equipped referral hospital in Gaza—to essentially stop functioning as a medical facility," the organisation said.

The WHO said in its statement that there are still 25 staff members and 291 patients at the hospital, who will be transferred to Nasser hospital and the European hospital located in southern Gaza.

It noted, however, that "these facilities are already operating beyond their maximum capacity, and transferring more patients will only worsen the burden on them."