Gaza Strip: Red Cross Warned of Total Medical Collapse

On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that the Gaza Strip is at risk of total medical collapse due to the Israeli aggression, which caused more than 25,000 deaths and 62,000 wounded.

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Only two hospitals currently provide advanced emergency medical and surgical services to the more than two million inhabitants in Gaza, the ICRC stressed in a statement.

The Nasser Medical Complex and the Gaza European Hospital, both located in the south of the enclave, are the only referral centers providing such services there, which is insufficient for the high number of wounded.

It stressed that the territory's hospitals are overcrowded with wounded, sick and refugees, while lacking medical supplies, fuel, food and water.

The international relief agency stressed that two more facilities are at risk of being lost due to the fighting, including Al-Amal Hospital, located in the southern city of Khan Yunis.

International humanitarian law states that all parties to the conflict must fully respect and protect medical infrastructure, recalled William Schomburg, head of the ICRC's Gaza office.

Schomburh noted that "the cumulative impact on the health system is devastating," and called for urgent action.

If the few facilities currently open cease to function, the world will witness thousands of avoidable deaths given the size of the population, the current extreme living conditions, the collapse of the health system and the intensity of the fighting, the ICRC said.

The Committee urged the parties to the conflict to "ensure the safety of hospitals and the people in them, including health workers, the wounded and sick."

It also called for the timely resupply of items necessary for the operation of these facilities such as medicines, fuel, food and water.