Civil Organizations: The Health Situation in the Sector Needs Immediate Intervention to Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe

SadaNews - The network of Palestinian civil organizations has called on the United Nations and international institutions for urgent intervention to find a serious and effective solution to the catastrophic humanitarian situation that is worsening daily in the Gaza Strip, due to the continued closure of crossings by Israeli occupation forces, preventing the entry of humanitarian and relief assistance, including medical supplies, as well as preventing the transfer of patients and the injured for treatment abroad.

The network indicated that figures from specialized institutions confirm the ongoing disaster of severe shortages of tools and medical supplies within hospitals, which has led to the death of around 1,200 citizens, including 155 children, who died as a result of not being allowed to evacuate for treatment.

The network affirmed that the health system in the Gaza Strip is staggering amid the continued spread of diseases resulting from the effects of brutal aggression, including the catastrophe of rainwater flooding and the inundation of displaced people's tents, where only about 30,000 tents have been allowed in out of the 400,000 tents required, further exacerbating health and humanitarian conditions.

It added that many skin and respiratory diseases are spreading among the displaced, alongside the deteriorating health conditions of chronic disease patients, particularly the elderly, amid a lack of necessary supplies for them, leading to a lack of basic necessities such as sanitary diapers, which negatively impacts their psychological conditions and increases the likelihood of avoidable deaths.

The network renewed its call for pressure on the occupying state to allow the entry of medical and relief aid, in light of the Kuwait Field Specialty Hospital's decision to stop performing scheduled and emergency surgeries, due to the acute shortage of essential medical supplies, including anesthesia drugs, medical solutions, sterilization materials, necessary surgical tools, and the prevention of their entry by the occupying authorities.

The network of civil organizations, while reiterating its demands to the UN Secretary-General, the Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization, and all international bodies and institutions, emphasized the necessity of working to stop this brutal behavior of the occupation, calling for this issue to be listed as a continuation of the crime of genocide that has been perpetrated since October 7, 2023, and continues.

It also called for accountability and prosecution of the occupying state for these crimes, and for international sanctions to be imposed on it, along with the establishment of international mechanisms to ensure the opening of compulsory corridors for the entry of humanitarian, relief, medical, and health aid to the Gaza Strip, as part of assuming international responsibility to save the catastrophic situation, prevent the total collapse of the health sector, and alleviate the escalating humanitarian suffering as winter approaches and buildings collapse, which are daily causing more casualties.