GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that the rapid deterioration of Gaza’s healthcare system, in light of the latest Israeli “evacuation orders,” poses a direct threat to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis and further hampers the ability to provide care for the wounded and sick.
In a statement released Monday, the ICRC confirmed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate severely. Civilians are being killed and injured daily due to the intense aggression, while their suffering is compounded by ongoing restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid, making access to essential needs like fuel, water, and food increasingly difficult.
The statement noted that the Red Cross field hospital in Gaza received over 370 patients in a short period on Sunday and Monday. Many of the wounded had suffered gunshot injuries while trying to reach a food distribution center, an alarming indication of the continued risk to civilians and the worsening humanitarian conditions.
Medical sources at the hospital reported that more than 200 patients were admitted in a single day, marking the highest number recorded since the facility was established due to a mass casualty incident.
The ICRC emphasized that under international humanitarian law, the protection of civilians during armed conflict is a legal and moral obligation. Warring parties must exercise the utmost caution to avoid harming civilians and civilian infrastructure. However, the reality in Gaza, now over 20 months into this crisis, continues to show that civilians are bearing the highest cost.
The ICRC also stressed the urgent need for the immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine, and medical supplies, while ensuring that the wounded and sick receive the emergency care they desperately need.
The organization renewed its call to respect and protect medical workers, relief teams, and civil defense personnel, noting the numerous deaths and injuries sustained by these groups in recent months.
The ICRC also warned that the situation in the West Bank is no less serious, with civilians suffering from the destruction of homes and farmland, village violence, and ongoing restrictions that affect fuel availability, limit emergency services, and hinder access to healthcare. Thousands remain forcibly displaced amid worsening economic and social challenges.
The Red Cross concluded by saying that even under occupation, civilians must be allowed to live as normal a life as possible, with their dignity preserved, their basic needs met, and their human rights upheld.
