“The health system in the Gaza Strip is constantly collapsing in light of the ongoing bombing and the absence of medical aid,” Ashraf al-Qudra said.
He added that the Israeli forces have sentenced 800,000 people to death in northern Gaza as a result of the catastrophic healthcare system in hospitals.
The Palestinian death toll from a deadly Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip has surged to 23,357 since Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the enclave said on Wednesday.
A ministry statement noted that 59,410 other people have also been injured in the onslaught.
“At least 147 people were killed and 243 others injured in Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours,” the ministry added.
“Many people are still trapped under rubble and on the roads and rescuers can’t reach them,” the statement read.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas in October, in which nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
About 85% of Gazans have been displaced by the Israeli onslaught, while all of them are food insecure, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands of people are living without shelter, and less than half of aid trucks are entering the territory than before the start of the conflict.
Robert Mardini, director of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told Al Jazeera that all hospitals in Gaza are suffering from a total collapse of the healthcare system, calling it “unacceptable and dangerous”.
“The medical supplies in the Gaza Strip are absolutely insufficient to provide relief to the wounded and sick,” he said, adding, “Hospitals in northern Gaza are no longer able to provide any surgical services.”
Officials say the current health situation in Gaza is “beyond catastrophic,” with most hospitals completely out of service in Gaza City and the north. Out of 36 hospitals, 30 of them now are completely out of service.
