The World Health Organisation (WHO) head has said that the Israeli military incursion into Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza was “totally unacceptable”, Reuters reports.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva that patients and staff must be protected even if hospitals were used for military purposes. “Hospitals are not battlegrounds,” he said.

Tedros said the organisation had no reports of the number of deaths and injuries in Gaza for the last three days, making it harder to assess the state of the healthcare system there. He said one WHO staff member had described it as: “No water, no electricity, only bombing, bombing, bombing.”

Tedros reiterated calls for a ceasefire and better access for aid into Gaza, as well as for the release of Israeli hostages being held there by Hamas.