WHO loses contact with Gaza hospital staff after raid

The head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday it had lost touch with health personnel at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza after Israeli forces began raiding the facility. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the reports of the military incursion into Shifa were deeply concerning. Hamas denies this is the case.

The head of the World Health Organization said on Wednesday it had lost touch with health personnel at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza after Israeli forces began raiding the facility.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the reports of the military incursion into Shifa were deeply concerning. "We've lost touch again with health personnel at the hospital. We're extremely worried for their and their patients' safety," he said on social media platform X.

In separate comments, U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Wednesday he was "appalled" by reports of the raids. "The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns," he wrote on X.

"Hospitals are not battlegrounds." Israeli troops entered Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, on Wednesday and were searching its rooms and basement, witnesses said. Israel says Hamas fighters have a headquarters in tunnels beneath it. Hamas denies this is the case.