A wounded Palestinian woman from the Baraka family is surrounded by her children upon their arrival at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip following Israeli air strikes that hit their building on 13 November. Photo: AFP / Mahmud Hams
The World Health Organisation is hoping the four-day truce between Israel and Palestine will offer a safe space to take as much aid into Gaza as possible.
On Wednesday, the temporary ceasefire was agreed to allow for 50 hostages to leave Gaza and 150 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel be let go.
But there was no pause the thousands of civilians facing dire humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
The Hamas-run Gaza health authorities have reported that of the over 14,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since 7 October, 5500 of them are children.
UN Foreign Affairs chief Josep Borell said that it was crucial to deliver enough humanitarian aid to allow the civilian population to survive in Gaza.
Speaking to Morning Report, the WHO's Dr Margaret Harris said people were dying every minute and the hospitals in Gaza were absolutely inundated with people.
"The hospital themselves, they now have 30,000 wounded to deal with and that number reflects the number of people who are trying to get care in hospital.
"There are many, many more people out of hospital that simply aren't getting care. The needs are absolutely enormous and the only way to deal with it at this point is to bring in the support."
Harris said the WHO wanted to send in another medical team to takeover - or at least support - the current medical team on the ground.
Severely injured people also needed to be taken out of Gaza - as they were not getting the medical care they needed there.
The organisation had managed to get some people out - including 28 babies from Al Shifa Hospital who were now being restabilised and cared for in Egypt.
Palestinians walk down a road as they flee Gaza City and other parts of northern Gaza towards the southern areas on 10 November. Photo: AFP / Majdi Fathi
Children with cancer had also been taken from Gaza as they were unable to access treatment.
"It's been really slow and difficult," Harris said.
"There is severely injured people who really can't be dealt with in Gaza."
Bringing as many supplies into Gaza as possible was another priority for the organisation.
"I think you know that normally 500 trucks a day were crossing into Gaza with essential supplies before 7 October," Harris said.
"Since the 21st of October when we were allowed to bring some aid in, only 1000 have entered so we need huge amounts more.
"We have been able to send some supplies in over that period, but what's desperately needed is fuel to operate all the hospital generators but also the sewerage systems and the water pumping systems. Everybody needs clean water, we've got a real problem with water sanitation."
There had been a huge outbreak in infectious diseases and people suffering from diarrhoea.
People were also starving, she said.
"The need to get in an enormous amount of aid, it really cannot wait. We have to do it as quickly as possible."
The only thing stopping aid from getting in was the risk of safety, she said.
If the truce holds and fighting stops, the organisation would take in as much aid as it could.
