The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Monday that operating rooms, intensive care units, and emergency departments are now operating with worn-out medical equipment and are lacking vital supplies. The ministry warned that this severe shortage of equipment is deepening the crisis facing hospitals and hindering the work of medical staff.

The ministry explained in a press release that hospitals in the Gaza Strip now lack portable x-ray machines and anesthesia equipment, and that surgical supplies for specialized surgeries such as those for orthopedics, vascular surgery, and ophthalmology are unavailable.

She also noted the depletion of essential medical gases such as carbon dioxide, medical fabrics, beds, and infection control supplies, amid a lack of food supplies for crews working around the clock due to the strict blockade imposed by the occupation on the Gaza Strip.

The ministry stressed that "the severe shortage of medical equipment and general supplies exacerbates the complex crisis facing hospitals and hinders the work of medical teams."

Red Crescent: The protection badge has become a shroud for medical personnel.

On the occasion of World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, the Palestine Red Crescent Society issued an urgent appeal calling on the international community to provide effective protection for humanitarian workers in Palestine, given their continued targeting by the Israeli occupation forces.

The association reported that "the number of martyrs among its staff has reached 48 since the start of the aggression, including 30 who were martyred while performing their duties while wearing the Red Crescent badge," stressing that the number of martyrs among humanitarian work and medical personnel in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 1,400.

The association added, "The Red Crescent emblem, which is supposed to provide protection to its bearers, has been transformed into a shroud for the bodies of our volunteers and staff who were targeted while performing their humanitarian duties, amid international silence."

The association emphasized that these attacks are part of a systematic policy aimed at undermining Gaza's health system, calling for accountability for those responsible for the violations and the immediate release of three of its members, who continue to be forcibly disappeared by the occupation, along with dozens of medical workers.