Dr MUNIR AL-BURSH director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, warned this week that the forced displacement of residents from Gaza City would lead to the collapse of the health system, cut off medical supplies across the Strip, and spark a humanitarian and epidemiological disaster.
Dr Al-Bursh said on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation continues to bomb residential towers and homes, leaving thousands of families homeless and driving them southward under siege conditions that block food and medicine, while famine and disease steadily spread.
He reported that four more Palestinians had died from hunger in the last 24 hours, raising the total famine-related death toll to 394, including 140 children.
‘The humanitarian tragedy is worsening amid the absence of any serious international response,’ he said.
He stressed that an immediate ceasefire and safe humanitarian corridors are urgent to save lives, calling for shelter for the displaced and an end to targeting residential towers, which has resulted in destroying tents and temporary shelters.
The Gaza health sector, he added, is facing ‘enormous challenges’ from forced displacement.
Most hospitals in the north and centre are out of service, while southern hospitals are operating at more than triple capacity.
Bed occupancy has exceeded 300 per cent, with no ability to absorb new cases.
Any further displacement, Al-Bursh warned, would sever medical supply chains, since central warehouses for medicines and vaccines are in Gaza City.
‘This risks destroying vaccines and cutting off life-saving treatments for kidney and heart patients, while halting surgical operations,’ he said.
He revealed that about 200 intensive care patients, including premature babies in incubators and patients on ventilators, cannot be transferred.
Many could die if forced to flee or left without care under the blockade.
Al-Bursh described patients and the wounded walking long distances or using improvised means to reach southern hospitals.
Many die en route because of the severe shortage of functioning ambulances, which struggle to move under heavy bombardment.
He also warned of deadly outbreaks inside overcrowded shelters lacking sanitation.
So far, 106 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and 11 related deaths have been recorded, with fears of new infectious diseases emerging due to the mass displacement.
According to Al-Bursh, Israeli forces have killed 1,671 health workers since the war began, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.
Ambulances have been targeted and health workers detained, threatening total collapse of services if the escalation continues.
He said medical staff work under immense psychological pressure, grappling with the loss of family members while being unable to provide care to their patients, all while facing daily threats to their lives inside hospitals.
Despite the danger, Al-Bursh affirmed that Gaza’s medical staff have decided to stay and resist.
He cited the ‘Shrouds March’ held by city residents in defiance of displacement, declaring their preference to die in Gaza rather than leave.
His warnings come as Israeli occupation forces continue a destructive assault on Gaza City’s residential towers, amid UN and international concerns that any new mass displacement would trigger the total collapse of Gaza’s humanitarian system.
With direct US support, Israel has carried out genocide in Gaza since October 7th, 2023, killing more than 64,000 Palestinians, wounding 163,000, and displacing hundreds of thousands.
The siege has created a famine that has already claimed 393 lives, including 140 children.
- Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on Doha, Qatar, targeting officials of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, drew immediate condemnation from countries and leaders across the region and beyond.
The Tuesday attack was widely denounced as a violation of international law, an infringement on Qatari sovereignty, and a threat to regional stability.
Qatar
Qatar condemned the Israeli airstrike as a ‘cowardly’ attack targeting residential buildings housing members of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha.
It described the strike as a ‘flagrant violation of international law’ and a serious threat to the safety of its citizens.
‘The State of Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behaviour and its continued tampering with regional security, as well as any action targeting its security and sovereignty,’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.
United Nations
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the airstrike, labelling it a ‘flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar’.
He highlighted Qatar’s positive role in mediating ceasefire efforts in Gaza and facilitating the release of captives, urging all parties to prioritise a lasting ceasefire instead of further escalating regional instability.
Iran
Iran condemned the strike as ‘dangerous’ and a violation of international law, calling for an immediate halt to actions that undermine regional peace.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the ‘extremely dangerous and criminal action is a gross violation of all international rules and regulations, a violation of Qatar’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity’.
Yemen
Yemen labelled the airstrike a violation of Qatari sovereignty that undermines regional diplomacy and urged Arab nations to unite against Israeli aggression.
‘We warn against a formula for the violations of all countries in the region. What happened in Doha will happen again and more in the rest of the countries if we do not all unite in confronting the Zionist threat,’ Mahdi al-Mashat, the chairman of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, warned.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack as a ‘flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly State of Qatar’, warning of ‘grave consequences’ from continued Israeli transgressions.
Pakistan
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described the attack as an ‘unjustified and aggressive violation of sovereignty’ that could destabilise regional peace.
He expressed Pakistan’s deepest sympathies and solidarity with the people and leadership of Qatar and reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.
Iraq
Iraq condemned the strike as a ‘cowardly act’, expressing full support for Qatar and reaffirming its commitment to regional peace and security.
Turkey
Turkey condemned the attack, saying it reflects Israel’s lack of interest in resolving the Gaza genocide. Ankara called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to diplomatic negotiations.
Jordan
Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, called the attack a ‘blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter’ and a serious threat to Qatari security and sovereignty.
He described it as an extension of Israel’s ‘brutal aggressiveness’ that endangers regional stability.
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The UAE condemned ‘the treacherous Israeli attack’ as a ‘blatant and cowardly’ act, stressing the importance of respecting national sovereignty and adhering to international law to maintain regional stability.
Arab League
The Arab League described the airstrike as a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and a destabilising act, urging collective measures to prevent further aggression.
Maldives
President Mohamed Muizzu described the airstrike as a ‘serious violation of international law’ and a ‘blatant infringement on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a sovereign nation’.
He called on the international community to ‘take urgent and unified action to hold Israel accountable for its numerous and continued violations of international norms and principles’.
