Gaza updates: Two-thirds of Gaza's health facilities are not functioning — WHO

Friday, February 7, 2025

0410 GMT — The top World Health Organization official for Gaza said only 18 of 36 hospitals were partially functional and just 57 of 142 primary health care centers were operating.

Between February 1 and February 5, there were 139 wounded and ill patients evacuated from Gaza to Egypt through the Rafah crossing, alongside 197 companions, Dr Rik Peeperkorn has said.

He said between 12,000 and 14,000 patients still need medical evacuation including 5,000 children — and at the current rate, medical evacuations will take five to 10 years and critically ill patients will die.

The ceasefire has enabled the WHO to bring in 101 trucks with medical supplies, Peeperkorn told a UN press conference via video from Gaza.

He urgently pleaded for the opening of another medical evacuation corridor, for example from northern Gaza through the Eretz crossing with Israel to hospitals in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

0226 GMT — Jordan's FM to visit Washington for talks on Gaza

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will visit Washington for meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Trump administration officials, the Axios news site reported, citing two sources.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II began an overseas trip on Thursday for meetings with officials in the UK and US, including US President Donald Trump.

Safadi's visit comes ahead of King Abdullah’s scheduled meeting with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, the report said.