WHO says it was told by Israel to empty Gaza warehouse, Israel denies

World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that Israel told the agency to empty aid warehouses in Gaza.

The warning comes due to the ongoing ground invasion in the area that threaten the lives of innocent civilians and UN employees.

“Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use,” Tedros wrote on X.

“We appeal to Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities,” he added.

The Israeli occupation forces, however, denied telling WHO to empty any aid warehouses in the area.

“The truth is that we didn’t ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant #UN representatives,” the Israeli defence ministry body for Palestinian civilian affairs, COGAT, said on X.

Israel’s attacks on Gaza killed more than 15,900 innocent civilians, mostly women and children.

The Israeli occupation forces sent dozens of tanks into southern Gaza on Monday even though southern Gaza was deemed by the occupation forces as a “safe zone.”

At a press conference on Monday, the WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, said the escalation of the attacks in Gaza risk depriving thousands of civilians of health care.

“We saw what happened in the north of Gaza. This cannot serve as a model for the south,” he added.