A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday that Gaza faces an “imminent public health catastrophe” amid overcrowding, mass displacement, and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, according to Reuters.

At the same press conference, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned of the risk of infant mortality due to drought rising with only five percent of regular water supplies available.

UNICEF also reported reports of 940 children missing in Gaza.

For his part, UN Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said today that he “feels helpless” after speaking by phone with families in Gaza. “What they have suffered since October 7 is absolutely devastating,” Griffiths added.

"When an eight-year-old tells you she doesn't want to die, it's hard not to feel helpless," he continued.

The death toll rises

8,525 people were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing since October 7, according to what the Hamas Ministry of Health announced today.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Ashraf Al-Qudra, said in a statement, “The number of martyrs in Gaza has risen to 8,525, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women.”

Al-Qudra added in a press conference that parts of the Turkish Friendship Hospital were destroyed as a result of direct Israeli targeting this morning.

He continued, "We announce the start of the countdown to the cessation of the main electrical generators at Al-Shifa Medical Complex and the Indonesian Hospital at the end of Wednesday."

He pointed out that 57 health institutions were targeted and 15 hospitals and 32 health centers were taken out of service as a result of the targeting and the failure to bring in fuel.