GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Very limited quantities of blood and plasma units have entered the Gaza Strip, at a time when besieged hospitals are facing severe shortages and an escalating need due to the ongoing genocide for the past 21 months.
Despite immense international pressure on Israel, it allowed the entry of 2,900 units of blood and plasma for hospitals in Gaza, according to Mohammad Saqr, spokesperson for Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Saqr told Anadolu Agency that the complex received 1,500 plasma units and 1,400 blood units sent from the West Bank, “which are enough to meet the complex’s needs for only two weeks.”
He warned that these quantities would only last for one week if distributed across all hospitals in the Strip, emphasizing that the daily number of injuries is extremely high and is depleting what remains of the health system’s capabilities.
Saqr stressed that these quantities “only cover a small portion of the increasing medical needs,” calling on the World Health Organization to pressure for the continuous and regular entry of blood shipments.
Earlier today, the Ministry of Health in Gaza warned that the health and humanitarian situation has reached a “catastrophic stage” amid Israel’s ongoing prevention of emergency medical supplies from entering.
The ministry said that the remaining operational hospitals in the Strip will soon be unable to continue providing services due to the severe crises they face. It pointed out that the collapse of medication and medical supply stocks has led to the deterioration of specialized services, especially for cancer and heart patients.
The ministry explained that 47% of essential medicines and 65% of medical consumables are now completely depleted. Only 9 out of 34 oxygen generation stations are partially functioning, affecting the oxygen supply to hospitals. It also noted that community blood donation campaigns have become futile due to widespread malnutrition and anemia.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel—backed fully by the United States—has waged a genocidal war on Gaza, which has so far resulted in over 187,000 martyrs and wounded, more than 11,000 missing persons, and a famine that has claimed the lives of hundreds. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands live in conditions of forced displacement amid widespread destruction.
