Palestinian and UN officials warned Sunday that the health and humanitarian situation in Gaza will further deteriorate if Israel continues its blockade on the enclave, reported Xinhua.
About 64 percent of medical supplies in Gaza have run out due to Israel's continued closure of the crossings, health authorities in Gaza warned Sunday.
"Indicators of a severe shortage of medicine are accelerating dangerously, with 43 percent of essential medicines at zero stock, a 6-percent increase compared to last month," the authorities said in a press statement.
Emergency departments, operating rooms, and intensive care units are operating on depleted stocks, with the number of critically ill patients on the rise, they said, adding that those with kidney failure, tumors, blood and heart diseases, and non-communicable diseases are the most affected.
"The Israeli occupation is preventing children from leaving Gaza for treatment at a time when the Strip is suffering from a severe shortage of post-amputation assistive devices, such as prosthetic limbs, and a lack of a suitable environment for people with disabilities," said Bassam Zaqout, director of medical relief in southern Gaza.
Noting that there are more than 4,000 children on waiting lists for urgent surgeries, including many amputation cases, Zaqout said in a press statement that symptoms of famine have begun to appear among children, leading to serious health problems including immunodeficiency, intestinal diseases, and deadly dehydration.
Meanwhile, Abdel Salam Sabah, director of the Eye Hospital in Gaza, said a serious shortage of consumables and medical equipment for eye surgeries will lead to a near-total collapse of surgical services, particularly for retinal diseases, diabetic retinopathy, and internal bleeding.
The Eye Hospital is about to declare its inability to provide any surgical services unless relevant authorities and international organizations intervene immediately, the director said.
Also on Sunday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East warned on social media platform X that "the longer this blockade continues, the more irreversible harm is being done to countless lives," adding the agency has thousands of trucks waiting to enter Gaza.
Israel halted the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza on March 2, following the expiration of the first phase of a January ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It resumed attacks on Gaza on March 18, which, according to data released by health authorities in Gaza on Sunday, have so far killed 2,720 Palestinians and injured 7,513.
The UN has repeatedly warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, reporting increasing signs of acute hunger, particularly among children. The situation is rapidly deteriorating as U.S.-based food relief organization World Central Kitchen announced Wednesday that it would halt cooking in Gaza due to the depletion of humanitarian supplies, forcing the closure of most community kitchens in the enclave after running out of stock.
Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organizations Network in Gaza, warned Wednesday that the closure of community kitchens could exacerbate the hunger in Gaza.
"The repercussions of the severe humanitarian disaster will be significant on the health and lives of citizens, especially children, women, the elderly, and the sick," Shawa told Xinhua.
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
