Gaza: Health authorities in the Gaza Strip announced on Monday the death of about 1,000 Palestinian patients while waiting for the border crossings to open to travel for treatment, despite having obtained administrative forms ensuring their medical transfer outside the strip. Director-General of health authorities in Gaza Dr. Munir Al-Barsh, said in a statement that the joint medical referral committees with the World Health Organization (WHO) have received more than 22,000 cases since the beginning of the war, of which 18,100 were approved, including 5,000 cancer patients, 7,000 injured, and 5,000 children.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Al-Barsh emphasized that "all the files are with the United Nations and the World Health Organization," stressing the urgency of opening the Rafah land crossing. The healthcare sector in Gaza is in critical condition, with a reported 170,000 injured individuals requiring complex surgeries that are not available locally due to the health system's collapse and exhausted surgical capacities.
Al-Barsh further detailed the severe shortages faced by the healthcare sector, highlighting the scarcity of medicines and medical supplies. Essential and emergency medical resources such as bone fixatives and gauze are largely unavailable. The existing medical supplies are predicted to last for only one month, even amid a declared ceasefire.
Moreover, Al-Barsh noted that the World Health Organization has prepared 3,000 medical aid trucks in the Egyptian city of Al-Arish, yet these have not been transported into Gaza. The current situation underscores the dire need for opening the borders to facilitate the entry of critical medical aid.