The ICRC said medical personnel “are struggling to cope” with the “overwhelming” number of patients arriving at the field hospital.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the healthcare system in the besieged Gaza Strip “is extremely fragile” due to Israel’s ongoing genocidal military operation and blockade of humanitarian aid.
“In the last two weeks, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has had to activate its mass casualty incident procedure 12 times, receiving high numbers of patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds,” the ICRC said in a statement on Sunday.
The healthcare system in Gaza is extremely fragile. To avert preventable deaths, the services of the remaining health-care facilities must be preserved and reinforced. pic.twitter.com/LhPBz6mSpy
— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) June 8, 2025
It stressed that the number of patients “received over this period (933 cases, including 41 that were declared dead upon arrival) is higher than all mass casualty incidents over the twelve months prior combined.”
Distribution Sites
The ICRC also noted that an “overwhelming majority of patients from the recent incidents said they had been trying to reach assistance distribution sites.”
The warning came hours after Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that the death toll from the US-backed Israeli aid distribution sites had risen to 125, with 736 wounded and 9 missing since May 27, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Over 600 Palestinians Killed, Injured at Gaza Aid Points in One Week – Report
According to the office, 13 people were killed and 153 injured on Sunday alone in two separate incidents near those locations.
‘Capacity to Operate in Jeopardy’
The ICRC said medical personnel “are struggling to cope” with the “overwhelming” number of patients arriving at the field hospital.
“They are working to save patients under constact exposure to stray bullets, endangering the safety of those providing and receiving medical care,” the humanitarian organization stated. “This puts the field hospital’s very capacity to operate in jeopardy.”
After forcing civilians to wait in line under the guise of ‘organizing aid,’ armed gangs and Israel’s collaborators are seen opening fire on them—killing and injuring several. pic.twitter.com/X01TzmvGNE
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 9, 2025
In addition to “exhausted” staff struggling under the strain, supplies are “being used faster than they can be replenished.”
Grace Osumo, the Hospital Programme Manager, said “We continue to receive high numbers of patients on a daily basis, and we are forced to put patients anywhere there is space – stretchers are on the floor.”
International Law Requirements
The organization noted that recent days “have seen an increase in hostilities” around the few remaining and functional hospitals.
This has made patient transfers between facilities “increasingly challenging, and in many cases, patients cannot receive the intensive or specialized care they require.”
Don’t Fund the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: It’s a Genocidal Smokescreen
“Under international law,” the ICRC stressed, “wounded patients must receive the medical care and attention required by their condition as soon as possible.”
“To this end, medical facilities must be respected and protected,” it emphasized, adding that it requires “taking all feasible steps to support their work, ensure their safety, and guarantee that they are not deprived of vital resources needed to carry out their work.”
On May 27, Israel began implementing a controversial plan to distribute aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, bypassing UN oversight. Palestinians have denounced the move as a coercive tactic to force displacement from northern to southern Gaza.
Staggering Death Toll
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 54,800, wounding more than 126,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
‘Bloody Traps’: Israel Strikes Gaza Aid Centers Again, Scores Killed, Wounded
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(PC, Anadolu)
Be the first to comment