WHO rejects Israel's claim of "collusion" with Hamas

World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has rejected Israel's accusation at the Executive Board meeting that WHO is in "collusion" with Hamas and is "turning a blind eye" to the suffering of hostages being held in Gaza.

WHO refutes Israel's accusation at the Executive Board meeting yesterday that WHO is in “collusion” with Hamas and is “turning a blind eye” to the suffering of hostages being held in Gaza. Such false claims are harmful and can endanger our staff who are risking their lives to…

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 26, 2024

"Such false claims are harmful and can endanger our staff who are risking their lives to serve the vulnerable. As a United Nations agency, WHO is impartial and is working for the health and well-being of all people," he wrote on X, according to Caliber.Az.

He was responding to claims made on January 25 by Israeli ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar at a meeting of the WHO's board.

In "every single hospital that the IDF searched in Gaza, it found evidence of Hamas' military use," Eilon Shahar said.

"These are undeniable facts that WHO chooses to ignore time and time again. This is not incompetence; it is collusion."

The Israeli ambassador warned WHO that "by not condemning Hamas or taking any action to prevent them embedding themselves in hospitals and civilian areas, you are putting those who you are supposed to protect in harm's way".