Israel claims to have facilitated transfer of aid to some hospitals in Gaza
Israel’s liaison to the Palestinians, COGAT, claims that over the past three days it has facilitated the transfer of 6,750 litres (1,783 gallons) of fuel, 10,000 litres (2,640 gallons) of water, dozens of food crates and nearly 300 boxes of medical supplies.
It said in a statement that on Monday, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, supplies were delivered to al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, including 291 boxes of medical equipment, along with food supplies, and that water supplies totalling 10,000 litres and food crates were transferred to the Indonesian Hospital.
We have reported earlier that Hisham Mhanna, a communications officer with the International Committee of the Red Cross, said “the entire population [of Gaza] is in desperate need of everything, every day, for over 15 months now.”
Mhanna told Al Jazeera that “a trickle of aid must be turned into a safe flow of aid with security guarantees and arrangements for humanitarian workers so they can deliver it to everyone in need – everywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
Fuel shortages, Israeli attacks devastate Gaza’s health system
Dr Bushra Othman at Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Deir el-Balah came to Gaza in June as a volunteer physician and returned in December. She described how incessant Israeli air strikes coupled with restrictions on medical supplies are leading to deadly conditions for patients.
“We’re still working with extremely low supplies – medications, antibiotics, drugs for chronic conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid issues,” Othman told Al Jazeera.
“With a lot of attacks and injuries over the past five days, there are no intensive care beds anywhere in Gaza. Our patients are dying because we’re unable to provide them the care they should be able to receive anywhere else around the world.”
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