The General Authority for Crossings and Borders in Gaza has issued a warning about the severe consequences due to the ongoing closure of the Rafah land crossing, which has been under the control of the Israeli military for the past thirteen consecutive days.
In a statement released on Sunday, the authority highlighted that the shutdown of the crossing has severely worsened the already dire humanitarian situation for the residents of the Gaza Strip. This is primarily due to the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the impediment of medical evacuations amidst the current Israeli military operations.
Furthermore, the authority reported that over 11,000 injured individuals are in urgent need of medical treatment abroad. Their health is at significant risk because of the persistent closure. Tragically, several injured patients, who were scheduled for travel in recent days for critical care, have succumbed to their injuries owing to the inability to leave due to the crossing’s closure.
The Authority appealed to the international community “to put pressure on the occupation to immediately withdraw from the crossing, reopen it, and resume work in it, to save what can be saved in light of the tragic conditions resulting from the ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.”
Also on Sunday, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said that the Israeli occupation committed 8 massacres during the past 24 hours, including 70 dead and 110 injured in hospitals, noting that several victims are still under the rubble and on the roads.
According to the ministry, the toll of the aggression since 7 October has risen to 35,456 dead and 79,476 injured. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip called on all humanitarian institutions to bring medicines into the Strip as the Israeli aggression and occupation of the crossings continued.
The ministry warned in a statement that the acute shortage of necessary medicines and medical consumables threatens the lives of patients and hampers the provision of emergency services, surgeries, primary care, and many other services.
On the ground, Israeli TV Channel 12 quoted sources in the Israeli occupation army as saying that a fourth military brigade had been introduced to fight in Rafah, which raised the number of brigades operating in Gaza to 9 brigades.
The occupation army continued its military operation against Rafah, which it began on May 6, ignoring regional and international warnings about the repercussions of this, in light of the presence of about 1.4 million displaced people in this city, which it pushed there under the claim that it was safe.
Moreover, the Israeli occupation army acknowledged that 44 soldiers and officers were injured in battles throughout the Gaza Strip last weekend, including 8 seriously injured.
For its part, the Al-Quds Brigades the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement announced their clash with an occupation army force in the Jabalia camp, killing and wounding its members, in a joint operation with the Al-Qassam Brigades the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). It also referred to another joint operation that included targeting an Israeli Merkava tank and clashing with a foot force next to it.
