Ukraine helped evacuate Moldovan citizens from the Gaza Strip: what is the situation there now and why UN and WHO are sounding the alarm

Ukraine, along with Romania, helped Moldovan citizens evacuate from the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ground operation against Hamas militants is underway. Meanwhile, the UN and WHO report a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the enclave and an increased danger to civilians.

On November 8, President Maia Sandu thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis for their assistance in rescuing Moldovan citizens from Gaza. She wrote about this on Twitter.

According to Sandu, the operation to evacuate Moldovans lasted almost a month. As of the morning of November 8, 36 citizens of the country managed to leave. The politician said she was deeply grateful to Zelensky and Iohannis.

Moldovan citizens crossed the Gaza border with Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. Cairo became a temporary stopping point, Newsmaker reports.

Next, the people are to travel to Bucharest together with Romanian citizens on a special flight organized by the Romanian Foreign Ministry. From Bucharest, they will arrive in Moldova by bus.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova, some citizens of the country had to cancel the trip at the last minute for security reasons.

In a comment to Eurointegration, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry noted that it is not possible to disclose details yet as the evacuation process is still ongoing.

Earlier, Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniichuk, said that "51 Moldovan citizens are being released from Gaza" at the request of the Ukrainian side. He said this in a comment to Ukrinform.

It should be noted that the official evacuation of Ukrainians from the Gaza Strip began on November 7. The permission to leave was granted to 101 citizens of our country. They are met at the border with Egypt by representatives of the embassy.

UN and WHO sound the alarm

At a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 7, World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said that the people of Gaza "desperately need water, fuel, food and safe access to health care to survive."

According to him, some doctors in the enclave are performing operations, including amputations, without anesthesia. The level of death and suffering is "unimaginable," CNN quoted him as saying.

"Nothing can justify the horror that civilians in the Gaza Strip are experiencing," Lindmeier said.

He called for "unhindered, safe and secure access" for humanitarian aid trucks.

According to the WHO, at least 16 medical workers, including those from the Médecins Sans Frontières organization, have been killed in the line of duty in Gaza.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also spoke about the dire humanitarian situation earlier. He spoke of "horror" and "a crisis of humanity" in the Gaza Strip, which is turning into "a cemetery of children."

Guterres called for increased aid to the Gaza Strip. If this is not done, dirty sewage will soon flow through the streets, leading to the rapid spread of disease.

He also expressed concern that the conflict is going beyond Israel and Palestine and is spreading to the entire Middle East "from Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Yemen."

According to OBOZ.UA:

- According to media reports, US President Joe Biden called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a three-day pause in the fighting.

- Earlier, Netanyahu rejected the idea of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip until all hostages are released.

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