The humanitarian situation is deteriorating at a rapid rate in the Gaza Strip, as a result of the Israeli occupation army continuing to close the crossings, stopping the flow of humanitarian aid and medical supplies, and depriving thousands of sick and injured people of traveling abroad to receive treatment.

For 45 days, the occupation has continued to close the Rafah border crossing, after it occupied the Palestinian side of it specifically on May 7, the day after the start of its ground invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Since that time, the occupation has prevented the entry of life-saving aid and supplies into the besieged Strip, and no sick or wounded person has been able to leave to receive treatment.

The continued closure of the crossings threatens the return of famine to Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, and its spread to the south and center, after citizens exhausted their remaining food supplies in light of the scarcity of aid.

The scarcity of aid was reflected in the high number of deaths due to famine since the outbreak of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on the 7th of last October, to 46 citizens, the majority of whom were children from the northern Gaza Strip and Gaza City.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths, said: “About 96 percent of Gaza’s population (2.1 million people) face high levels of acute food insecurity, including more than 495,000 who face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in the fifth stage.” “In which families face severe food shortages and starvation, and nearly half a million people face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity that remain unsustainable.”

An international report indicated that more than 495,000 people (22% of the population) face catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity in the fifth stage, in which families face severe food shortages, starvation, and exhaustion of the ability to cope.

He stated that humanitarian access to the southern governorates, where there are two million people, has decreased significantly with the closure of the Rafah crossing and the obstacles at the Kerem Shalom crossing, and pointed out that the concentration of the population in areas that largely lack water, sanitation, hygiene, health care and other infrastructure, It increases the risk of disease outbreaks, which will have disastrous effects on the nutrition and health status of large segments of the population.

The report pointed out that, in order to buy food, half of the families were forced to exchange money for clothes, while a third of the families resorted to collecting waste to sell it. More than half of families reported that they often do not have food, and more than 20% of families spend entire days and nights without eating any food.

More than 330,000 tons of waste have accumulated in or near populated areas throughout Gaza, posing catastrophic environmental and health risks.

According to the United Nations, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is staffed by experts from 19 UN agencies and four donor countries, and tracks hunger, but it can sound the alarm before the potential spread of acute malnutrition to avoid it turning into more serious, life-threatening conditions.

Medical sources announced today the loss of 70% of the list of essential medicines, warning of an imminent exhaustion of medicines and medical supplies for specialized diseases such as cancer and kidney failure.

She warned of the repercussions of this severe shortage of medicines and medical consumables on the lives of patients, who are unable to leave the Gaza Strip to complete treatment abroad.

The sources indicated that there is an acute shortage of treatments for providing primary care services for mothers and children, and medications for mental health.

It also warned of the spread of epidemics among patients due to their lack of personal hygiene and good nutrition.

The representative of the World Health Organization in Palestine, Rick Peppercorn, pointed out that the closure of the Rafah crossing prevented the evacuation of at least two thousand patients, and called for the reopening of the crossing and other roads.

He said that before the closure, “about 50 patients in critical condition were leaving Gaza every day... This means that since May 7, at least 2,000 people have been unable to leave Gaza to receive medical care.”

Peppercorn added that at least 10,000 people need to be evacuated from Gaza, explaining that this number is less than the number who need critical care for war trauma and chronic diseases.