The World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board voted on Thursday to maintain the health emergency in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, in a resolution supported by 27 of the 34 members.

The measure reflects international concern over the humanitarian and health catastrophe affecting the Gaza Strip, where the medical infrastructure faces imminent collapse.

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Israel was the only member state to vote against the resolution, while four abstained and three were absent during the vote. The Executive Board condemned the repeated and direct attacks against health facilities and medical personnel, expressly calling them “serious violations of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.”

The approved text emphasized the urgency of establishing immediate, safe, and unobstructed humanitarian corridors to guarantee the entry of medicines, medical supplies, and fuel. He also demanded that the free movement of ambulances and medical equipment be guaranteed, as well as allowing 18,500 patients and wounded, according to WHO figures, to access specialized treatment outside Gaza.

Ambassador Ibrahim Khreisheh, Permanent Representative of Palestine to the UN in Geneva, welcomed the international support and stressed that “maintaining the health emergency is not a political decision, but an urgent humanitarian necessity.”

He cited a report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documenting the killing of 1,582 doctors and humanitarian workers by Israeli forces, in addition to 320 Palestinian detainees who died due to medical negligence.

Khreisheh warned that 95% of health facilities in Gaza have been partially or completely destroyed, while 37 relief organizations—22 of them linked to the health sector—are unable to operate. The resolution reaffirms the international community’s commitment, through the WHO, to protect the Palestinian civilian population, defend the right to health, and ensure humanitarian operations are conducted without politicization or coercion.

The decision comes amid an unprecedented health crisis, with hospitals, health centers, and ambulances severely impacted by ongoing fighting, exacerbating civilian suffering and drastically limiting access to essential medical care.

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