Israel-Gaza war: World Health Organization empties aid warehouse in southern Gaza after Israeli army ‘advice’

After initially focusing its assault on the north of the war-torn territory, the Israeli army has now sent ground forces into the south and dropped leaflets telling Palestinian civilians in more districts to evacuate.

Israel declared war on Hamas after the militant group’s October 7 attacks that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and that saw around 240 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities.

In retaliation for the worst attack in its history, Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and secure the release of all the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says the war has killed nearly 15,900 people in the territory, around 70 per cent of them women and children.

Peeperkorn explained that the WHO on Sunday had informed the Israeli army that it intended to move supplies out of the warehouses to assist a Medecins Sans Frontieres team and also to provide help to UNRWA, the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

When you are advised by an army that … you have 24 hours and after that … it’s very unlikely you can reach your warehouse, of course you comply

“Then yesterday morning, we were informed that you better remove as much as possible … Your warehouses are in an area where the population was told to evacuate, and which would most likely become an area of active combat in the coming days,” he said.

“When you are advised by an army that … you have 24 hours and after that … it’s very unlikely you can reach your warehouse, of course you comply,” Peeperkorn said.

“We took out almost 90 per cent of the supplies,” he said. “It was a panic movement.”

The supplies have been moved to a single warehouse in Rafah.