WHO accuses Israel of strip-searching aid workers and striking staff homes
Three Israeli Defence Forces air strikes reportedly targeted the homes of WHO staff and their families on Monday, resulting in a fire and extensive damage.
In a statement posted on X, the WHO said: 'Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict.
'Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint. Two WHO staff and two family members were detained. Three were later released, while one staff member remains in detention.
'WHO demands continuous protection of its staff and the immediate release of the remaining detained staff member.'
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director General, said the strikes would further hinder attempts to support hospitals and doctors in the war-torn region at a time they are 'already critically short on medicines, fuel, and equipment'.
'As the lead agency for health, compromising WHO's operations is crippling the entire health response in Gaza,' Dr Tedros said.
WHO operations compromised following attacks on warehouse and facility sheltering staff and families in Gaza
WHO condemns in the strongest terms the attacks on a building housing WHO staff in Deir al Balah, in the middle area of Gaza, the mistreatment of those sheltering there,… pic.twitter.com/CWe68tNiX9
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 21, 2025
Israel launched an offensive into southern and eastern districts of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area the IDF suspects hostages may be held.
Tank shelling in the area struck houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said.
Earlier in the day, the IDF had ordered Palestinians to evacuate Deir al-Balah – an area where many of the displaced had sought refuge as it is one of the few territories where Israel has not conducted major ground operations.
Dr Tedros said on X that a ceasefire in Gaza 'in not just necessary, it is overdue'.
'With the main warehouse non-functional and the majority of medical supplies in Gaza depleted, WHO is severely constrained in adequately supporting hospitals, emergency medical teams and health partners, already critically short on medicines, fuel, and equipment,' he said.
'WHO urgently calls on member states to help ensure a sustained and regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza.'
. @WHO 's staff residence in Deir al Balah, #Gaza, was attacked three times today as well as its main warehouse.
Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were… pic.twitter.com/PGjaYrhkfH
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) July 21, 2025
Dr Tedros's renewed calls for a ceasefire come as the British government signed a joint statement with 28 international partners who have warned that the war must end as the suffering of civilians in Gaza had 'reached new depths'.
The statement, also signed by France, Canada and Australia, condemned the 'drip feeding of aid and the inhumane killing of civilians, including children, seeking to meet their most basic needs of water and food'.
It criticised the Israeli government for its denial of 'essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population' and said it was 'horrifying' that more than 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid.
On Sunday, a day before the statement was released, at least 85 Palestinians were killed seeking aid – the highest death toll in 21 months inflicted by the Israeli military.
The UN food agency, the World Food Programme, said the majority of those killed had gathered near the border fence with Israel in the hope of getting flour from a UN aid convoy when they were fired on by Israeli tanks.
Last week, The Telegraph spoke to Professor Nick Maynard, a top Oxford surgeon currently working in Gaza, who said that snipers were deliberately targeting 'certain body parts on different days, such as the head, legs or genitals' near US-Israeli run aid distribution points.
He added that he was seeing 'unprecedented levels' of severe malnutrition. 'The malnutrition I'm seeing here is indescribably bad. It's much, much worse now than a year ago.'
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organisation backed by Israel and the United States, currently limits food distribution to four fixed sites in Gaza.
Israel and the US have been criticised over near-daily shootings near the distribution sites, which have killed 875 Palestinians seeking food since May, according to the UN human rights office.
In July, more than 170 NGOs called for the GHF food aid distribution scheme to be dismantled over concerns it is putting civilians at risk of death and injury.
Israel's foreign ministry said the statement signed by Britain and its international partners was 'disconnected from reality'.
'The statement fails to focus the pressure on Hamas and fails to recognise Hamas's role and responsibility for the situation,' the Israeli statement said.
The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, called the statement 'disgusting' and said blaming Israel was 'irrational' because Hamas rejects every proposal to end the war.
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