Excerpt: But the ICRC – a neutral organisation – said the meagre list of goods allowed into Gaza doesn’t meet the needs of the territory’s 1.5 million inhabitants.
The shortages are particularly dire in Gaza’s health care system, where the ICRC said more than 100 essential medicines – including chemotherapy and hemophilia drugs – are unavailable. Many basic medical supplies, like colonoscopy bags, are also barred from Gaza and routine blackouts cause damage to medical equipment.
“The state of the health-care system in Gaza has never been worse,” Eileen Daly, the ICRC’s health co-ordinator in Gaza, said. “Thousands of patients could go without treatment, and the long-term outlook will be increasingly worrisome.” B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, released its own report on Monday documenting dire conditions in the Palestinian territories. The group noted that 95 per cent of Gaza’s factories have closed, that 98 per cent of residents suffer from blackouts, and that 93 per cent of Gaza’s water is polluted.
