Israeli attacks at aid distribution sites sending increased number of casualties to hospitals says ICRC
\n Deir el-Balah
\nGaza\u2019s healthcare system is \u201cextremely fragile\u201d amid the ongoing Israeli war, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.
\nThe organisation said in a statement on Sunday that the enclave\u2019s hospitals are in urgent need of protection and reinforcement amid Israel\u2019s continued bombardment and blockade. It added that the system is facing growing pressure due to increasing casualty rates from Israeli attacks at aid points.
\n\u201cIn the last two weeks, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has had to activate its mass casualty incident procedure 12 times, receiving high numbers of patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds,\u201d ICRC said in a statement on X on Sunday.
\n\u201cAn overwhelming majority of patients from the recent incidents said they had been trying to reach assistance distribution sites,\u201d it continued.
\nHundreds of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire around aid distribution sites operated by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) since it launched on May 27.
\nThe organisation ousted the United Nations and other independent agencies from the aid distribution effort following an 11-week blockade of the enclave that prompted numerous warnings that many of Gaza\u2019s people now face famine.
\nGaza\u2019s Government Media Office reported on Sunday that the death toll from events centred on the GHF aid sites had risen to 125. A further 736 are reported to have been wounded, with nine missing.<\/p>\n
\u2018Increase in hostilities\u2019
\nThe office said 13 people were killed and 153 injured in the latest attacks. Israeli forces were reported to have opened fire on civilians gathered near aid distribution centres east of Rafah and Wadi Gaza Bridge, in central Gaza.
\nWitness Abdallah Nour al-Din told the AFP news agency that \u201cpeople started gathering in the al-Alam area of Rafah\u201d in the early morning.
\n\u201cAfter about an hour and a half, hundreds moved towards the site and the army opened fire,\u201d he said.
\nThe Israeli military said it fired on people who \u201ccontinued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers\u201d despite warnings.
\nA GHF statement said there had been no incidents \u201cat any of our three sites\u201d on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u2018Urgent action\u2019
\nThe Red Cross also expressed concern that the intensifying conflict is putting the enclave\u2019s few functional medical facilities at risk.
\n\u201cRecent days have seen an increase in hostilities around the few remaining and functional hospitals,\u201d it said in the statement.
\n\u201cThis has made patient transfers between facilities increasingly challenging, and in many cases, patients cannot receive the intensive or specialized care they require.\u201d
\nThe ICRC warned that further loss of life is inevitable without urgent action and called for the protection of healthcare infrastructure and personnel.
\n\u201cIt requires taking all feasible steps to support their work, ensure their safety, and guarantee that they are not deprived of vital resources needed to carry out their work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Israeli attacks at aid distribution sites sending increased number of casualties to hospitals says ICRC Deir el-Balah Gaza\u2019s healthcare system is \u201cextremely fragile\u201d amid the ongoing Israeli war, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned. The organisation said in a statement on Sunday that the enclave\u2019s hospitals are in urgent need of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-483249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n