The United Nations warns that the situation in Gaza will become “even more hellish” if humanitarian operations are stopped
Three of the four hospitals still operating in the northern Gaza Strip fell victim to attacks that left at least nine people dead, the United Nations reported today, which also confirmed the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel is located expanded its offensive. The attacks affected the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia (northern Gaza), where at least four people were killed and nine injured; to the Al-Awda center in Beit Lahiya, also in the north, with at least five dead; and Al Ahly in the Gaza Strip capital, with an unconfirmed number of casualties, according to the daily report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
According to the report, even in southern Gaza, health facilities are being surrounded by Israeli forces. Specifically, the World Health Organization (WHO) was ordered to remove its medical supplies from two warehouses in the area. The United Nations insists that hospitals are operating in extreme situations due to a lack of equipment and overcrowding, while Gaza’s Health Ministry assures that many of these medical centers are “overwhelmed by the constant arrival of corpses.” “Although it seems impossible, a scenario even more hellish than the current one could be reached, in which humanitarian operations cannot be carried out,” said UN humanitarian chief Lynn Hastings, quoted in the report.
In its daily report on the conflict, the United Nations highlights that bombings and fighting by Israeli forces have increased in the past 24 hours, causing at least 349 deaths and 750 injuries, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, an organization , which is classified as terrorist by the EU and the United States.
Humanitarian aid has been reduced by almost half compared to what could happen during the ceasefire (in which about 170 trucks entered Gaza daily, while only 100 were allowed to do so on Monday). According to the United Nations, fuel consumption needed to run power generators in hospitals and other centers has been reduced from 110,000 liters per day to 69,000 liters.
For the second day in a row, Rafah, near the border with Egypt, was the only place in Gaza where humanitarian aid could be distributed on Monday, as even southern towns previously relatively free from the Israeli offensive, such as Khan Younis, are now struggling Access due to expansion into the combat and attack areas. This help is also becoming increasingly difficult due to telecommunications problems. On Monday evening, Gaza’s largest telephone and internet service provider announced that it was suspending them due to cuts in its fiber optic lines, shortly after they were partially disrupted in northern Gaza.