WHO Calls on ‘All Parties’ to Honor Gaza Ceasefire and Hostage Release Deal
Moment at which three Israeli hostages, Doron Steinbrecher, Romi Gonen and Emily Damari, are turned over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City on Sunday.

WHO welcomed Sunday’s Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal as the first Israeli hostages – three young women – were released to the Red Cross amidst throngs of masked Hamas operatives, who brandished guns atop the Red Cross vehicles and fired shots at times into the air to ward off the crowds of people that gathered to watch the handoff in Gaza City. 

The Israeli hostage release, followed by Israel’s release of some 90 Palestinian prisoners, all women and minors, came as the shaky ceasefire deal took effect on Sunday. 

The deal ushered in a 42-day halt in the fighting and a partial Israeli military withdrawal away from Gaza’s dense population centers and parts of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to Egypt – which is supposed to be accompanied by a massive surge in humanitarian aid.  The six week-long period is supposed to see the release of some 33 Israeli hostages in all, including remaining women, children and elderly hostages, some already presumed dead, along with more than 1700 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.  

Negotiations that will continue during the first phase are supposed to lead to a second stage, including what Qatari mediators have described as a complete Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of the remaining 65 Israeli and foreign hostages, all men, as well as several thousand more Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. 

“The ceasefire in #Gaza and the start of the hostage and prisoner release process bring great hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict,” said WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an X post. “It is a moment I have been calling and hoping for.”   

“However, addressing the massive health needs and restoring the health system in Gaza will be a complex and challenging task, given the scale of destruction, operational complexity and constraints involved,” said Tedros, citing a lengthy WHO statement focused on the challenges of Gaza reconstruction

garbage accumulates in gaza, raising risk of polio
Tent camps of displaced Gazans amidst piles of garbage, and contaminated water supplies, raises infectious disease risks.

WHO European Region release separate statement on Israeli hostages release

In a separate statement,  WHO’s European region welcomed the release of “WHO welcomes the release of traumatized hostages taken from Israel, after enduring 470 days of brutal captivity in Gaza.” 

It was a rare WHO statement on the hostage situation in a conflict where the deaths of over 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and it’s near physical destruction, has overshadowed the plight of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since their bloody 7 October, 2023 incursion into Israeli border communities that killed nealry 1200 people and took over 240 captive. 

“WHO is acutely aware that the hostages face complex mental and physical health needs and may take years to recover. The families of hostages also require sensitive mental health care,” said the WHO European Region statement.

“WHO is reassured that Israel – a WHO/Europe Member State – possesses the resources and relevant expertise to respond to the medical, mental, and nutritional challenges to restore the health of the hostages, and the well-being of their families.

“In Gaza, WHO and partners are scaling up operations to deliver critical medical supplies and resources, addressing urgent health needs and contributing to recovery efforts including the process of rebuilding the shattered health system,” the WHO European statement also said. 

“We reaffirm our readiness to support affected communities on all sides.”

Fears of potential breakdown in ceasefire running high

Fears about a potential breakdown in the ceasefire arrangements have been running high on all sides as armed Hamas fighters emerged from refugee encampments and hospital compounds in a visible display of force. Meanwhile, Israel’s hard-right politicians vowed that the country would return to fight Hamas in Gaza to its total destruction, following the initial six-week cease fire period. 

A third phase of the cease fire deal, if finalized,l is supposed to see a permanent cessation of the conflict, opening the way for the massive task of rebuilding Gaza’s shattered housing, education, water and sanitation infrastructure.

It’s estimated that more than 90% of the enclave’s two million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes – many of which no longer exist at all.  

And rebuilding the health infrastructure, alone, will cost an estimated $10 billion, according to initial estimates by WHO, with only about one-half of the enclaves hospital’s functioning, even partly, and most of the primary health care system destroyed.

“More than 46 600 people have been killed and over 110 000 have been injured. The real figures are likely much higher,” the WHO HQ  statement noted. “Only half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially operational, nearly all hospitals are damaged or partly destroyed, and just 38% of primary health care centres are functional.

“An estimated 25% of those injured – around 30 000 people – face life-changing injuries and will need ongoing rehabilitation. Specialized health care is largely unavailable, medical evacuations abroad are extremely slow. Transmission of infectious diseases has massively increased, malnutrition is rising, and the risk of famine persists. The breakdown of public order, exacerbated by armed gangs, raises further concerns.”

Indeed, the elephant in the room remains the governance of Gaza. In his final press conference last week, outgoing US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, a key architect of the deal, said that Gaza should not be left in Hamas hands, leaving Israel open for future missile attacks and border threats such as the ones experienced on 7 October 2023 and since. 

That stance has been echoed by members of new US President Donald Trump’s incoming administration. But much-discussed proposals for turning Gaza’s governance over to a regional coalition or back to the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority have failed to pick up steam – partly due to the PA’s own record of corruption and ineffectual government, as well as it’s lack of regional political support.

And so as the fragile cease-fire took hold, the Islamist group that has controlled the 365 square kilometer enclave for nearly 20 years, remains the only visible Palestinian force on the ground.

Image Credits: @nabilajamal, UNRWA .

Combat the infodemic in health information and support health policy reporting from the global South. Our growing network of journalists in Africa, Asia, Geneva and New York connect the dots between regional realities and the big global debates, with evidence-based, open access news and analysis. To make a personal or organisational contribution click here on PayPal.