Gaza, May 06 (QNA) - The health system and hospitals operating at minimum capacity in the Gaza Strip are bracing for a real catastrophe due to the unrelenting Israeli blockade and the blocking of life-saving medical supplies and aid, officials in the Palestinian Ministry of Health and hospital managers in Gaza have warned.

In separate conversations with Qatar News Agency (QNA), they stressed that the stringent blockade imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on the Gaza Strip and the prevention of the delivery of medicines and food are causing fatalities among innocent, sick, and wounded people of all ages, particularly children.

The Director of the Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza, Dr. Marwan Sultan, asserted to QNA that the hospital is grappling with a major catastrophe and is no longer able to afford medical services to patients and those injured by Israeli bombing, due to shortages of fuel and medical supplies, the ongoing offensive, and the shuttering of the crossings.

The hospital's sections are bursting at the seams with wounded people, with intensive care units (ICUs) experiencing an overwhelming number of patients. These ICUs need power generators around the clock in order to operate ventilators connected to the injured and patients, Dr. Sultan pointed out.

He warned that the closure of Gaza's crossings for over 64 days has aggravated the plight of patients with chronic diseases, particularly the elderly, pregnant women, and children, compounded by the depletion of the medical stockpile and the outbreak of malnutrition and anemia.

Dr. Sultan appealed to all international and humanitarian organizations to act seriously and promptly to supply the hospital with essential fuel, warning that without it, a real catastrophe looms, threatening the lives of a substantial number of injured patients admitted to ICUs.

The international community, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other relevant institutions must ensure medical shipments reach the enclave to provide medical services and save lives, he stressed, warning of dangerous consequences due to the depletion of medical supplies from both the hospital’s and the Ministry of Health’s depots.

For his part, the Director of Kuwait Specialized Hospital in the Southern Gaza Strip, Dr. Sohaib Al Hams, warned that the Gaza Strip is suffering from an acute shortage of over 75% of key medicines, which is a major reason for the dangerous decline in the ability to provide treatment services.

Abilities are at stake to provide medical services, as the remaining medical stockpile is not adequate for even a few days, given the unabated Israeli aggression, closing of the crossings, and blocking of access to life-saving aid, Al Hams continued.

Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Mahia Shamiya, said the Israeli occupation forces prevent international and UN organizations from accessing fuel storage sites designated for hospitals, arguing that they are located in red zones.

Impeding the delivery of fuel supplies threatens to bring all hospital operations to a standstill, as they fully depend on power generators. The available fuel quantities are only enough for merely a couple of days, he warned.

Amid the high-stakes situation, the humanitarian and health conditions are getting worse with the Israeli continuous targeting of domestic and international medical and charitable institutions which strive to provide critical services. Many of those institutions ceased their operations due to the aggression and closure of crossings.

Meanwhile, the health sector in Gaza is reeling from a severe crisis due to these Israeli measures, compounded with murders and detentions, in addition to the systematic destruction of key hospitals amid the mounting Israeli escalation in the embattled enclave. (QNA)