This was during a press conference held by the fund’s representative, Andrew Saberton, at the headquarters in New York, after his return from a five-day mission that included Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, where he spent five hours in the Strip, according to Western media. Saberton described the extent of the destruction he witnessed as resembling a ‘Hollywood movie,’ highlighting the humanitarian suffering of Gaza’s population. He explained that ‘neonatal facilities in the Strip’s hospitals are operating at 170% over capacity, forcing them to place several babies in one incubator.’ The UN Population Fund representative added that ‘one-third of pregnancies have become high-risk, with rising maternal mortality rates due to a shortage of medicines and the destruction of 94% of hospitals, with only 15% of medical institutions providing emergency obstetric services.’ He pointed to the exacerbation of gender-based violence, including early marriage, amid the ongoing conflict, a phenomenon repeated in conflicts worldwide.
Today, Thursday, it was announced that the first medical evacuation operation from the Gaza Strip was carried out since the ceasefire began, with 41 critically ill patients and 145 of their companions transported out of the Strip, according to the organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He added that about 15,000 patients are still awaiting permission to receive treatment outside the Strip, calling on countries to show solidarity and open all pathways to expedite medical evacuations.
It is noteworthy that U.S. President Donald Trump announced on October 9 that Israel and the ‘Hamas’ movement had reached an agreement to implement the first phase of the peace plan aimed at ending the ongoing armed conflict in the Gaza Strip for two years. Trump’s plan, introduced on September 29, includes 20 points, the most prominent of which is an immediate ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages within 72 hours and the formation of a technocratic administration under international supervision led by Trump himself, without the participation of ‘Hamas’ or other Palestinian factions in governance. Under the agreement, ‘Hamas’ released 20 hostages they had been holding since October 7, 2023, while the Israeli occupation released 1,718 prisoners from the Gaza Strip who were returned to their homes, in addition to 250 Palestinian prisoners with life or long sentences who were transferred to other Palestinian territories or deported.
