WHO chief urgently calls for protection of patients amid reports Gaza hospital under siege

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Wednesday for the protection of patients and health workers at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza amid reports that it has been under siege by Israeli forces since May 19.

"Earlier today, Al-Awda Hospital in northern #Gaza was reportedly invaded," Tedros said on X, noting that a total of 140 hospital staff, patients and their companions were inside at the time.

He noted that 12 hospital staff, including the hospital director, 14 patients and eight companions were ordered to stay behind, while the rest were ordered to evacuate and did so.

"@WHO urgently calls for the protection of patients, companions and health workers inside the hospital and safe passage for their evacuation," he added.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack last year by the Palestinian group Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 35,700 Palestinians have since been killed, most of them women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.