The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grew worse on Tuesday as much of the focus remained on grim accounts about the state of the collapsed health system after almost six weeks of war between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply disturbed” by the perilous situation at Gaza’s hospitals and, “in the name of humanity,” called for a ceasefire.
Another dire warning came from the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, which said humanitarian operations were grinding to a halt due to the lack of fuel.
In northern Gaza, there was fierce fighting between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants around several hospitals.
Attacks on hospitals and a lack of fuel to generate electricity have claimed the lives of several patients in recent days, including newborn babies, according to Palestinian and UN officials.
Around 180 decomposing bodies on the grounds of al-Shifa, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, have begun to be buried in a mass grave in a courtyard, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
The account could not immediately be verified.
However, it accorded with descriptions of the situation by the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which said on Monday it had heard of about 100 bodies that could not be buried at the hospital.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday that al-Shifa Hospital was still in operation, contrary to statements made by health officials at the weekend.
“We call it a functioning hospital because of the heroic efforts of the staff remaining,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in Geneva on Tuesday.
Despite the lack of power and attacks, the staff at al-Shifa Hospital are trying everything they can to care for around 700 remaining seriously ill patients. Within the past 24 hours, 20 of those have died, Harris said, referring to figures from the local health authorities.