WHO delivers 1st medical shipment to Gaza since March 2, calls it 'drop in ocean'

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief on Thursday said the agency successfully delivered its first medical shipment into Gaza since March 2.

In a post on X, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said WHO transported "9 trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2,000 units of blood, and 1,500 units of plasma" into Gaza on Wednesday.

The supplies entered through the Kerem Shalom crossing "without any looting incident, despite the high-risk conditions along the route."

The blood and plasma have been delivered to the Nasser Medical Complex's cold storage facility and will be distributed to hospitals "facing critical shortages amid a growing influx of injuries, many linked to incidents at food distribution sites," he added.

The WHO chief said the rest of the shipment will be distributed to priority hospitals in the coming days. "Four WHO trucks are still at Kerem Shalom and more are en route to Gaza," he noted.

The delivery marks a rare success amid months of severely restricted humanitarian access to the enclave, where health infrastructure has been decimated by ongoing hostilities.

"However, these medical supplies are only a drop in the ocean. Aid at scale is essential to save lives," Tedros underlined.

He reiterated the agency's appeal for broader humanitarian access, saying: "WHO calls for the immediate, unimpeded and sustained delivery of health aid into Gaza through all possible routes."