World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for a sustained ceasefire in Gaza, saying that it is a matter of life or death for civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

“Given the living conditions and lack of health care, more people could die from disease than bombings,” he said in a post on X.

He highlighted that overcrowding and lack of food, water, sanitation and basic hygiene, waste management and access to medication are resulting in a high number of cases of respiratory infections, diarrhoea, chicken pox, skin rash and other diseases in the besieged strip.