Gaza's Undersecretary of Health, Yousef Abu al-Rish, announced on Sunday that 59 percent of essential medicines and 37 percent of medical supplies are out of stock.

Abu al-Rish warned that the health sector has reached "dangerous and catastrophic levels" in light of the genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation with American support.

This came during his meeting in Gaza with the acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator, Suzana Tkalcic, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Abu Al-Rish said, "The stock of 59 percent of essential medicines and 37 percent of medical supplies has become zero."

He explained that hospitals in the Gaza Strip are in dire need of oxygen stations to ensure the continued operation of vital departments and to provide care to the wounded and sick.

Abu al-Rish pointed out that hospitals are facing severe shortages of fuel, spare parts, oils, and filters, threatening to shut down the generators they rely on, while a shortage of diagnostic equipment is preventing many emergency medical interventions.

On March 2, Israel closed Gaza's crossings to the entry of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid into the Strip, causing an unprecedented deterioration in the humanitarian situation.

In the same context, Abu Al-Rish stated that 16 of the 52 primary care health centers are no longer in service.

Regarding the nutritional situation, he revealed that 52 children had died due to malnutrition.

Abu Al-Rish warned that blocking food supplies threatens food security and increases the likelihood of more cases of anemia and malnutrition.

He added, "We are facing new numbers unless food and medicine supplies are brought in."

Abu al-Rish also pointed out that the continued closure of the crossings exacerbates the suffering of hundreds of patients and wounded people awaiting travel abroad for specialized treatment.

He pointed out that there are about 13,000 medical cases that need to leave the Gaza Strip.

Since resuming its genocide in Gaza on March 18, 2025, Israel has killed 1,335 Palestinians and injured 3,297 others, most of them children and women, as of Sunday morning, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

On another note, Abu al-Rish stressed that the direct targeting of ambulance crews and humanitarian teams significantly hinders the evacuation of the wounded and injured.

He warned that the interruption of water lines increases health and environmental risks, with diseases such as diarrhea and skin diseases spreading.

Abu Al-Rish said, "274 children were born and martyred during the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip."

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 165,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.

On March 1, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, which had been in effect since January 19, ended. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disavowed the start of the second phase.

Netanyahu, who is wanted by international justice, sought to release more Israeli prisoners in Gaza without fulfilling the commitments of the second phase, particularly ending the war of extermination and withdrawing completely from the Strip. Meanwhile, Hamas insisted on starting the second phase.