Aid sent to Gaza 'drop in ocean, does not meet needs': MoH official

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
24 Oct 2023 06:13

Gaza's top health official says the Israeli-induced dysfunctional state of medical centers in Gaza constitutes a blatant war crime.

Palestinians including children receive treatment after surviving Israeli bombs in al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Palestine, October 23, 2023. (AP)

An increasing amount of medical centers and hospitals in the Gaza Strip can no longer operate due to the lack of fuel, medical supplies, and equipment, the Director General of the Health Ministry in Gaza, Munir al-Barsh, told Al Mayadeen.

Al-Barsh revealed that urgently needed medicine has not reached the Ministry for distribution. The official also highlighted that the relatively small amount of humanitarian aid allowed to cross through the Rafah crossing, between Egypt and Gaza, is being transported to the Israeli-controlled Karam Abu Salem crossing where the trucks are extensively searched before entering the Strip.

It is worth noting that Israeli targeting of the Rafah crossing as well as its refusal to allow a large flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip means that only tens of trucks have entered Gaza. "Israel's" blockade of the Strip amounts to a blatant war crime, as the occupation continues to cut off water, food, and fuel supplies for more than two weeks.

Moreover, several Palestinian and international officials have reiterated that the current flow of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza will not suffice the more than 2 million residents of the Strip.

In this context, al-Barsh explained that the current amount of aid sent to Gaza is a drop in the ocean and does not meet the needs of the besieged population. He also added that 29 medical centers as well as several hospitals are currently out of service due to the criminal Israeli policy.

The Health official reaffirmed that the current situation of hospitals in Gaza constitutes a war crime on the part of "Israel".

As fuel supplies reach critically low amounts, putting essential services at risk of stopping at any moment, al-Barsh stressed that such a scenario would lead to the immediate death of numerous patients, especially children in Pediatric sections.

Moreover, the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza has faced a power outage, as healthcare and emergency workers operate on injured civilians using their phones' flashlights.

The medical staff at the Indonesian Hospital in #Gaza is using their phones' flashlights to receive victims of Israeli aggression amid a power outage caused by the occupation's ban on the entry of fuel to the Strip. #GazaGenocide #GazaUnderAttack #Palestine pic.twitter.com/pz3DpcJDu8
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 24, 2023

The official also revealed that the ministry received over 1,500 reports on civilians stuck under the rubble left by Israeli warplanes' bombing of residential areas.

Deliberate deterioration of the humanitarian situation

To this end, Hamas warned against the complacency of the international community and concerned parties with the issue of providing Gaza's essential sectors with fuel.

The movement reiterated that barring fuel from the Strip equates to "death sentences to all patients and injured individuals in the Gaza Strip's hospitals."

Hamas stated that the lack of fuel is a shameful act committed by "states that remained silent and aided the occupation with its aggression [on Gaza] and the genocide it committed against the Palestinian people and unarmed civilians."

The Palestinian Resistance party added that the power outage that the Indonesian Hospital is currently experiencing is a "crime against humanity," calling on all Arab and Islamic states as well as the United Nations to find a solution to the situation as soon as possible.

The Head of Hamas' Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, addressed Arab and Islamic leaders saying, "How much blood needs to be spilled and massacres committed... for you to take a historical position in the face of the [murdering] of children, women, and the elderly in Gaza."

Haniyeh also addressed the collective West, saying that its pro-genocide stances are another immoral act, as "you built a wall between you and the Arab and Muslim people which will never fall."

According to official sources, 5,087 Palestinians have been killed so far while 15,273 suffered injuries of varying degrees as a result of the indiscriminate Israeli aggression on Gaza.

At least 2,055 children were murdered by "Israel's" warplanes and shells, constituting the largest portion of deaths.