THE Hamas Movement has called upon the Arab and Islamic governments and the world’s free people to take all possible measures to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, to come to the aid of its population and support their steadfastness on their land.
‘After 50 days of total blockade and border closures imposed by the Israeli occupation army, Gaza is now facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and severe shortages in basic needs, including food, water, fuel and medicine. Even essential vaccinations for children have been denied entry,’ Hamas said in a statement yesterday.
‘This dire situation has been propelling the population towards famine and a worsening health crisis — while unfolding in tandem with daily brutal massacres being committed against innocent civilians in residential areas, shelters, and tents, alongside systematic destruction of hospitals and vital civil infrastructure,’ the Movement added.
Reports issued by human rights organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), indicate that over 70% of essential medicines are currently unavailable in the Gaza Strip. Hospitals are also suffering from a severe shortage of fuel needed to operate generators, which has led to the closure of many critical departments, such as intensive care units and operating rooms.
The Ministry of Health has repeatedly warned that the continuation of this blockade signals a total collapse of the healthcare system, especially as the number of injuries increases due to the ongoing genocide. According to official statistics, more than 117,000 Palestinians have been wounded since the beginning of the war, thousands of whom are in critical condition and require urgent medical care that is currently unavailable inside the Strip.
Dr. Alaa Helles, Director General of Pharmaceutical Care at the Ministry of Health, says that more than 37% of the essential medicines list is unavailable in the Ministry’s warehouses, in addition to a shortage exceeding 59% in the list of medical consumables needed for all health services.
The Palestinian doctor confirmed that primary care at hospitals and health centres operating in the Gaza Strip lacks nearly 40% of the medicines it needs. The ongoing health and humanitarian deterioration in the Gaza Strip coincides with continued Israeli escalation across various areas of the Strip, causing dozens of deaths and injuries daily.
Since March 2, Israeli occupation authorities have closed the crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian conditions of Palestinians, according to government, human rights, and international reports.
Amid this scene, people with multiple injuries, cancer patients, and those with chronic illnesses like heart disease and kidney failure are among the most affected by the situation, with their lives now threatened due to the depletion of vital medicines and the denial of permission to travel for treatment abroad.
The number of cancer patients alone in the Strip is estimated at about 9,000, most of whom are unable to access any kind of proper medical care, while 15,000 wounded individuals need multiple life-saving surgeries.
These reports affirm that what is happening in the Gaza Strip goes beyond a humanitarian crisis and has reached the level of a systematically managed catastrophe. The use of food and medicine as political bargaining tools represents a clear violation of international humanitarian law, which mandates the protection of medical facilities and the guarantee of aid delivery to civilians during conflict.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), accused the Israeli occupation authorities of using humanitarian aid as a ‘bargaining chip and weapon of war,’ and demanded the lifting of the strict blockade on the Gaza Strip.
He added: ‘Two million people — most of them women and children — are being subjected to collective punishment. The wounded, sick, and elderly are deprived of medicine and healthcare.’
The UK working class must take the lead. Now is the time to force the TUC to call a general strike to bring down the Starmer government and bring in a Workers government to establish the State of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital! There is no other way forward!
