“WHO’s staff residence in Deir al Balah, Gaza, was attacked three times today as well as its main warehouse,” Tedros announced in a statement on Monday via X.
He added that Israeli forces entered the building, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot towards the Al-Mawasi area amid ongoing clashes.
He went on to say: ” Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot and screened at gunpoint.”
Two WHO employees and two of their relatives were detained. Three were later released, while one staff member remains in custody.
The organisation called for the immediate release of the detained employee and protection of all its staff.
Tedros said that the main WHO warehouse in Deir al-Balah was also damaged on Sunday by “an attack that “caused explosions and a fire inside.”
He warned that, with the main warehouse out of service and medical supplies nearly depleted, WHO is struggling to support Gaza’s hospitals and emergency teams, which are already critically short of medicines, fuel, and equipment.
He concluded by calling on Member States “to help ensure a sustained and regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza.”
The Israeli army has not yet commented on these incidents.