By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan
GENEVA (AA) - The Gaza Strip is experiencing a "medical catastrophe," a health official told Anadolu on Tuesday.
Deputy Medical Coordinator of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Gaza, Muhammad Abu Mugaysib, said there are only two field hospitals remaining in Rafah.
"These hospitals cannot even meet the shortages and needs of the people. What we need are not field hospitals but regular hospitals. Field hospitals can work in emergencies, but they cannot meet the major needs of the people," said Mugaysib.
"Unfortunately, no medical aid has reached Gaza since the start of the Israeli army's ground attacks on May 6th. Therefore, we are experiencing shortages in many medical supplies," he noted.
"If the Rafah border crossing is not opened soon, there will be a major breakdown, and this will have a significant impact on the medical activities we carry out in the Gaza Strip. This is valid not only for MSF members but for all actors operating in the region.”
The official stressed that Gaza's health system had already collapsed in the initial weeks of the onslaught. If the situation persists, it will lead to a catastrophic medical disaster with repercussions lasting for centuries.
"Heart patients are dying because they cannot receive treatment. Cancer patients are dying because there is no cancer hospital. The medical situation in Gaza is truly critical and catastrophic," said Mugaysib.
He underlined that some people in northern Gaza died from hunger, while children lost their lives due to food shortages. “If the war does not stop, the situation will worsen.”
Israel has continued a brutal offensive against Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 35,600 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority being women and children, and over 79,600 others injured since October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.
More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel is accused of genocide at the ICJ, which has ordered it to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz.