World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has condemned an Israeli attack on Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza that killed six people, including a healthcare worker, patients and their companions, and injured at least 27 others.

In a statement posted on X, Tedros said the strike hit the hospital's surgery department during the early morning hours, causing extensive damage.

He added that other floors of the medical complex were also reportedly affected, including the surgical theatres, recovery unit and intensive care unit. Assessments of the full extent of the damage were still ongoing.

Tedros said the WHO had documented 1,056 attacks on healthcare facilities across Gaza since October 2023, resulting in 1,010 deaths and 1,725 injuries.

Warning of further deterioration in humanitarian conditions, the WHO chief said healthcare needs in Gaza remained immense and would increase as winter approaches.

He cautioned that rainfall, flooding and cold weather would worsen living conditions and heighten the risk of disease, particularly amid the collapse of water and sanitation systems.

Tedros reiterated the need for unhindered humanitarian access and called for more medical and humanitarian supplies to be allowed into the besieged Palestinian territory.

"Gaza's health facilities are lifelines for its people. They must be protected. They must never be militarized or attacked," he said.

Concluding his appeal, the WHO director-general stressed that "the best medicine is peace." (ILKHA)