As Israel persists in obstructing aid, attacking hospitals, and starving the population, Gaza’s already battered healthcare system is nearing complete collapse. According to officials at Al-Shifa Hospital, blood banks are running dry, and many would-be donors are too malnourished to safely donate blood.
Head of the hospital’s blood bank, Amani Abu Ouda, remarked, “We are losing blood units and deaths at the same time.” More than 14,800 patients still need urgent specialist care, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cautioned Wednesday, urging quicker medical evacuations.
Israeli troops keep attacking hospitals and medical facilities. Including 18 Palestinians shot while approaching UN and US-backed GHF relief trucks, at least 44 individuals died Wednesday. According to Palestinian authorities, Israeli forces have slain more than 1,560 aid seekers since May.
Once run by UNRWA, the Sheikh Radwan Health Centre was also hit, injuring scores. According to the WHO and UN, Israel’s destruction of medical facilities, together with its blockade of medicine and fuel, has forced many hospitals to close.
According to UN spokesman Farhan Haq, fuel shortages are presently endangering more than 100 premature newborns. Since March, more than 100 medical personnel have been turned away from Gaza.
With a fresh UN study showing that only 1.5% of farmland is available and unharmed, Israel’s continuous military action has destroyed most of Gaza’s food production. Due to Israeli evacuation commands, the rest is either ruined or inaccessible.
One hundred and ninety-three Palestinians have died from hunger-related causes as a result of the imminent starvation; five in the last twenty-four hours alone. Hamas has asked for worldwide demonstrations against what it refers to as a program of ethnic cleansing and starvation.
Worldwide condemnation is on the rise. UN human rights experts have urged the dismantling of the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), claiming it is using aid for political purposes.
Mediation initiatives between Israel and Hamas have stopped, despite calls for a truce. Plans for a complete reoccupation of Gaza under consideration by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are generating anxiety regarding a wider offensive.
These documents have been described as “deeply alarming” by the UN. Experts advise that increasing activities in the remaining civilian areas would have terrible effects on Gaza’s 2 million people.
