More than 16,500 people in need of urgent medical care in Gaza - WHO

More than 16,500 Palestinians in Gaza are in urgent need of medical care, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Its Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on more countries to accept patients who require treatment unavailable in the enclave.

"We also call for opening of all evacuation routes, particularly to West Bank, including East Jerusalem," he said in a post on social media platform X.

The WHO yesterday evacuated 19 critically ill patients and 93 companies from Gaza to Italy for specialised medical care.

Despite the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the death toll in Gaza continues to climb with at least 241 people killed and a further 609 injured since October 10.

More than 10,000 Palestinians remain under the rubble, according to the National Committee for Mission Persons in Gaza.

It has described the enclave as the "world's largest mass grave".

Meanwhile, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the Israeli military to destroy all tunnels in Gaza, saying it would lead to the Hamas' downfall.

“If there are no tunnels, there is no Hamas,” he wrote in a post on X.