GAZA, Saturday, June 15, 2024 (WAFA) – The humanitarian conditions are worsening and the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip is increasing as a result of the occupation forces continuing to close the crossings, stopping the flow of humanitarian aid and medical supplies, and depriving thousands of sick and injured people of traveling abroad to receive treatment.
The occupation forces continue to close the Rafah border crossing, after they controlled the Palestinian side of it on May 7, the day after the start of their ground invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
The ongoing closure of crossings by the Israeli occupation forces, especially the vital Rafah crossing- which is the main artery supply to the entire Gaza Strip - prevents the entry of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, as well as fuel, and poses an imminent humanitarian and health disaster.
Since that time, the occupation has prevented the entry of life-saving aid and supplies into the besieged Strip, and no sick or wounded person has been able to leave to receive treatment.
The ongoing closure of crossings by the Israeli occupation forces, especially the vital Rafah crossing- which is the main artery supply to the entire Gaza Strip - prevents the entry of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, as well as fuel, and poses an imminent humanitarian and health disaster.
Yesterday, medical sources at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip announced the death of a child as a result of malnutrition, dehydration, and a lack of medical supplies, which brings the number of malnutrition victims in the Gaza Strip since the start of the aggression to 40.
Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Carl Skaw, said that food supplies to the southern Gaza Strip are at risk, and that the displaced there are facing a public health crisis.
He added, "We had increased the size of stocks before the operation in Rafah so that we could feed people, but the stocks began to run out, and we no longer have the same ability to reach individuals."
The ongoing closure of the crossings also exacerbates the conditions of the Strip’s hospitals, which are already exhausted due to the severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, after about nine continuous months of aggression.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicated that about 3,000 children suffering from malnutrition are at risk of death due to being denied the necessary treatment as a result of the continued attack on Rafah.
“Horrific images from Gaza show children dying in front of their families due to continuing shortages of food and nutrition supplies and the destruction of health care services,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khader.
She added, “With hospitals destroyed, treatment halted, and supplies scarce, we are preparing for more children’s suffering and deaths.”
The United Nations World Food Program said that 9 out of 10 children in the Gaza Strip suffer from acute food poverty.
The program said in a post on X that “the hostilities and restrictions imposed on aid have led to the collapse of food and health systems.”
The death toll of health sector personnel in Gaza reached 500.Meanwhile the number of detainees reached more than 310.
According to local sources, 9 out of 36 hospitals remained partially operational, and 130 ambulances were destroyed.
Since dawn, at least 19 civilians were killed and at least 50 others were injured in raids by occupation warplanes that targeted three inhabited homes in the Al-Shuja’iya and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods, east of Gaza City.
Y.S
