Hospital chief decries 'extreme catastrophe' in north Gaza

The World Health Organisation expressed grave concern on Tuesday for hospitals still partly operating in war-stricken northern Gaza, where one hospital director described the situation as an "extreme catastrophe".

"We are very, very concerned, and it's getting harder and harder to get the aid in. It's getting harder and harder to get the specialist personnel in at a time when there is greater and greater need," WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told journalists in Geneva.

She said the organisation was "particularly concerned about Kamal Adwan Hospital" in Beit Lahia, where Israeli forces launched an offensive against Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups last month.

Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hossam Abu Safiyeh told AFP by phone: "The situation in northern Gaza is that of an extreme catastrophe.

"We're beginning to lose patients because we lack medical supplies and personnel," he said.

Abu Safiyeh added that his hospital had been "targeted many times by the occupation forces, most recently" on Monday.

"A large number of children and elderly people continue to arrive suffering from malnutrition," the doctor said.

He accused Israel of "blocking the entry of food, water, medical staff and materials destined for the north" of the Gaza Strip.