Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 23 September 2025

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Engagement with UNRWA Deputy Director John Whyte

2:00 am

Mr. John Whyte:

Very limited. There is Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, which has been attacked God knows how many times. I was talking this morning to colleagues in Médecins Sans Frontières, which has two primary health care clinics south of Al-Shifa. They are very worried because of the tanks being very close now to Al-Shifa, maybe 300 m away. The hospital is now literally on the front line of the conflict and there are international teams of staff in there. They are sheltering in place. They will continue to do their work for as long as they are able to. Eventually, they may have to be pulled out of there. It has happened before and it looks like it is going to happen again. We have some hospitals in the south that are by the Ministry of Health. There are also a few other hospitals that are run by different entities.

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