Middle East: 'Unimaginable' suffering in Gaza, say ministers

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Israel to allow it to restock urgently needed medical supplies in the Gaza Strip before any Israeli plans to "take over" Gaza City exacerbate an already "catastrophic" health emergency.

"We want to quickly stock up hospitals following the whole discussion about [a further] incursion into Gaza," said Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO's representative in the Palestinian territories.

"We need to be able to get all essential medicines and medical supplies in [but] we currently cannot do that," he continued. "We hear all about [Israeli claims that] 'more humanitarian supplies are allowed in' … well, it's not happening yet. Or [at least] it's happening at way too slow a pace."

Over half of the Gaza health system's medicines are running at zero stock, Peeperkorn told the AFP news agency, speaking from Jerusalem, blaming the Israeli authorities' "cumbersome procedures" for preventing the entry of vital drugs into the enclave.

According to Peeperkorn, only 50% of hospitals and 38% of primary health care centers are operating at all, and none to full functionality. In northern Gaza, he said bed occupancy has reached 240% capacity in the Al-Shifa hospital and 300% in the Al-Ahli Hospital.

"The overall health situation remains catastrophic," he said, saying that nearly 12,000 children under five were found to be suffering from acute malnutrition in July. "Hunger and malnutrition continue to ravage Gaza."

The Council of Europe — a human rights organization representing 46 countries but not affiliated with the European Union 

— has urged its members to halt deliveries of weapons to Israel "where there is a risk that they may be used to commit human rights violations."

The call comes shortly after Germany said it would authorize no military equipment exports that can be used in the Gaza Strip.

Michael O'Flaherty, the Council's commissioner for human rights, said member states should do "their utmost to prevent and address violations of international human rights" in the ongoing conflict.

He also said it was "essential to intensify efforts to provide relief to those affected by the conflict, by supporting efforts to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian assistance and by pressing for the immediate release of [Israeli] hostages."

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched a deadly surprise incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, prompting the ongoing Israeli retaliation, is still holding around 50 Israelis hostage, around 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that the plan to target the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City is "the best way to end the war."

But several world leaders have condemned the decision to widen the war, fearing it will result in even further displacement, destruction and death for the Palestinian civilian population, not to mention danger for Israeli troops and hostages.

Gaza's shattered healthcare system is stretched beyond its limits and its personnel pushed to the brink of exhaustion, according to Dr. Mohammed Fadlalla from Doctors Without Borders (MSF). He describes facilities as "overrun with patients."

The strain is compounded by the fact that medical staff are enduring the same hardships as their patients, he told DW.

"Everybody is hungry, nobody has eaten the day before, everybody is losing weight, everybody is exhausted and burnt out, and they're still working," Fadlalla said, noting that it has become "routine" for medical staff to share stories of loved ones lost in the war.

"The only difference between the staff and the patients is that the doctors and nurses haven't been shot yet," he said.

Dr. Fadlalla also conveyed the deep frustration expressed by his Palestinian colleagues, who feel increasingly abandoned by the international community.

"We're losing hope in America," he said. "Somebody needs to step up and and stop what's going on."

The doctor said the United States has the "power to stop and influence this" and begged President Donald Trump to "step up."

Spanish doctor Raul Incertis volunteered for four months in Gaza, working at the Al Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

He describes to DW the conditions inside the hospital as it was overwhelmed by mass casualties, including young children and civilians he claims were targeted intentionally by the Israeli military.

Warning: This report contains graphic images that viewers may find distressing.

Israel's ambassador to Germany has said that diplomatic relations between the two countries have been "strained" by Berlin's decision to partially halt arms exports.

"This is a cause for celebration for Hamas," Ron Prosor told Welt TV after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a pause in the authorization of weapons exports to Israel that could be used offensively and cause further civilian suffering Gaza.

Merz made the decision in response to much-criticized Israeli plans to expand military operations in the besieged enclave by fully occupying Gaza City.

Ambassador Prosor accepted that critics could take issue with the Israeli strategy but said leaving Israel "without defense, without weapons" meant leaving the state "defenseless."

For clarification: Merz stressed that the German export restrictions do not affect equipment required for Israel's self-defense, such as air and naval defense systems; only offensive weaponry.

A group of 26 foreign ministers have once again condemned the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and called for immediate action to combat hunger and starvation.

"The humanitarian suffering in Gaza has reached unimaginable levels," read a statement signed by the foreign ministers of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Later on Tuesday, the EU sent an updated statement that included Italy and Latvia as signatories. Germany did not sign the statement.

"Famine is unfolding before our eyes. Urgent action is needed now to halt and reverse starvation. Humanitarian space must be protected, and aid should never be politicized," the ministers stressed.

The statement, which was also signed by European Union figures, criticized "restrictive new registration requirements" which it said were preventing international NGOs from distributing aid.

"We call on the government of Israel to provide authorization for all international NGO aid shipments and to unblock essential humanitarian actors from operating," it read.

The signatories called for a "ceasefire that can end the war, for hostages to be released and aid to enter Gaza by land unhindered."

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of developments in the Middle East on Tuesday, August 12.

A group of 24 foreign ministers from around the world have called for urgent action as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continues to deteriorate as a result of Israeli restrictions on aid.

Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to Germany says diplomatic ties with Berlin strained after a curb on weapons exports.