UN Accuses “Israel” of Blocking Gaza Access as ICRC Highlights Health System Collapse

By Staff, Agencies

The UN’s humanitarian agency [OCHA] has raised alarms over “Israel’s” deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid access to Gaza, while the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] warns that the destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure places civilians at catastrophic risk.

OCHA reported on Monday that “Israeli” authorities have blocked over 150 humanitarian missions from reaching Northern Gaza since October.

“Between Friday and Sunday, three of four attempts to access the area were denied by ‘Israeli’ authorities,” it stated.

On Sunday, OCHA, alongside the World Health Organization [WHO], the World Food Program, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the UN Department for Safety and Security, managed to deliver basic medical and hygiene supplies, food, and water to critical patients, caregivers, and staff evacuated from Kamal Adwan Hospital to the non-functional Indonesian hospital in North Gaza.

Kamal Adwan Hospital is now completely out of service following an “Israeli” raid on Friday that forced the evacuation of patients and staff and the detention of the hospital’s director.

OCHA described the Sunday mission as “exceptional” but stressed that even the limited missions approved have faced significant obstacles.

“It should not require breaking a siege to help survivors in critical need. Aid workers must be granted safe and unhindered access to assist people wherever they are,” OCHA emphasized.

It warned that “humanitarian access remains systematically hindered across the Gaza Strip.” Over the past three days, OCHA noted that more than 60 percent of 42 UN-coordinated movements in Gaza were denied, interfered with, or blocked on the ground.

The ICRC, in a press release on Monday, condemned repeated “Israeli” attacks on hospitals, stating that these assaults have led to the “obliteration” of the healthcare system in Northern Gaza.

“[These raids are] putting civilians at an unacceptably grave risk of going without lifesaving care,” the ICRC added.

Both the Kamal Adwan and Indonesian hospitals in Northern Gaza are now “completely inoperable,” according to the ICRC.

“For months, these medical facilities have struggled to provide care for patients as ongoing hostilities have damaged hospitals and endangered or harmed staff, patients, and civilians,” it said.

Al-Awda Hospital, one of the few remaining operational facilities in Northern Gaza, is under severe strain due to an overwhelming influx of patients, caregivers, and displaced civilians seeking refuge.

ICRC cautioned that under these conditions, no patient can receive comprehensive medical care, leaving medical personnel powerless to address critical needs.

“The increasingly dangerous situation compounds over a year of insufficient medical equipment, supplies, fuel, food and specialized healthcare,” it noted.

Since the onset of the genocidal war against Gaza in October, which has caused the martyrdom of over 45,500 Palestinians, “Israel” has systematically targeted medical facilities across the coastal territory, citing alleged “Hamas command centers” as a pretext. However, the “Israeli” entity has consistently failed to provide evidence to justify these claims.