Gaza is experiencing a health catastrophe that will last for generations to come, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a massive increase in aid is needed to begin to address the complex needs of the Strip's population.
Israel has allowed more medical supplies and other aid to cross into Gaza since a ceasefire with Hamas came into effect on 10 October, but Dr. Tedros said levels are below those needed to rebuild the territory's healthcare system.
His intervention comes as the US attempts to shore up the ceasefire it helped to broker following an outbreak of violence at the weekend.
The agreement has been described by the White House as the first phase of a 20-point peace plan that includes an increase to the amount of aid entering Gaza, and supplies distributed without interference from either side.
Dr. Tedros told the Today programme he welcomed the ceasefire deal but said the increase in aid that followed has been smaller than expected.
Asked about the situation on the ground, he said Gazans had experienced famine, overwhelming injuries, a collapsed healthcare system, and outbreaks of disease fuelled by the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure.
He continued: On top of that, [there is] restricted access to humanitarian aid. This is a very fatal combination, so that makes [the situation] catastrophic and beyond words.
Asked about long-term health prospects in Gaza, he added: If you take the famine and combine it with a mental health problem which we see is rampant, then the situation is a crisis for generations to come.
Dr. Tedros indicated that in order to restore Gaza's health system significantly more aid is required: Six hundred aid lorries a day need to be arriving in Gaza but the average is between 200 and 300, he said. He called on Israeli authorities to de-link aid and the wider conflict.
He pointed out that supplies intended to restore Gaza's health system have been confiscated at the border because Israeli authorities claim they could have military uses.
Thousands of Palestinians are waiting for weekly medical evacuation flights, with Dr. Tedros mentioning that some have died while waiting. Prior to religious holidays in Israel, these flights had stopped.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen killed approximately 1,200 people and took hostages in an attack on 7 October 2023. Meanwhile, Dr. Tedros highlighted the fragility of the current ceasefire, noting that people were still being killed even after the agreement came into effect.
Overall, the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza requires urgent global attention and action.
