Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, told the Security Council by videoconference that attacks on hospitals across the Gaza Strip have deprived Palestinians not only of health care but also of sanctuary for people with nowhere else to go.

Türk said the destruction and combat in and around hospitals have had a “terrible impact” at a time of massive demand on health services. He cited figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicating more than 1,050 medical professionals have been killed in Gaza.

The World Health Organization representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Rick Pieperkorn, told the council that roughly 7% of Gaza’s population has been killed during 14 months of fighting and that only 16 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain at least partially functional. Pieperkorn said more than 12,000 people in Gaza still require medical evacuation; at the current pace that backlog would take years to clear.

U.N. humanitarian coordination officers reported frequent denials and impediments to aid movement. The office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs said six out of 10 coordination attempts were rejected on the day of the briefing; of the remaining four, two went ahead fully and two encountered serious impediments. The U.N. spokesperson said one of the rejected attempts that day was a plan to deliver supplies to besieged areas of North Gaza.

The U.N. spokesperson also said 55 patients and 72 companions were evacuated to the United Arab Emirates on the prior Tuesday and that more than 5,300 patients have been evacuated abroad since October 2023, leaving more than 12,000 patients still awaiting evacuation.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warned that a Knesset bill to bar UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territory is due to take effect in less than four weeks. The U.N. spokesperson quoted Lazzarini and said UNRWA’s teams are “committed to stay and deliver.” The spokesperson added that the U.N. views UNRWA as “the backbone of the humanitarian response” and said a collapse of its operations would cause “immense suffering.”

Asked whether the U.N. was planning to shut UNRWA offices in the West Bank and Gaza, the spokesperson reiterated that UNRWA is committed to remain but said that if the agency were unable to execute its mandated tasks, the secretary-general has told member states that, under international law, Israel as the occupying power would be expected to assume those responsibilities.

Why it matters: Hospitals, medical evacuations and UNRWA’s operational status are central to immediate civilian survival in Gaza. Damage to health infrastructure, the reported deaths of health workers, limited hospital capacity and denied aid movement have direct, measurable effects on the ability to treat the wounded and ill.

What was not decided: The briefing recorded warnings and questions but no council action or new resolution. The Knesset bill’s potential effect was described by U.N. officials; no U.N. decision to close or replace UNRWA operations was announced.

Provenance: The article draws on the high commissioner’s briefing and subsequent exchanges recorded in the Security Council briefing transcript.