The United Nations has issued a stark warning that Gaza’s health system is “on the verge of collapse” due to the ongoing Israeli occupation’s military offensive, which has resulted in a 50-day blockade preventing the entry of all forms of humanitarian aid, further exacerbating the crisis for the territory’s civilian population.
Critical Shortages of Food, Medicine, and Fuel
In a press briefing on Monday evening, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that “no food, fuel, medicine, or any other essential supplies have entered Gaza for 50 days.”
He added that food stocks have “dwindled dangerously,” while “medicines, medical supplies, and vaccines are nearly exhausted.” Dujarric warned that “both children and adults are suffering from hunger, and the health system is now on the verge of collapse.”
He further reported that hundreds of thousands have been displaced and that Israeli attacks on humanitarian and healthcare workers have once again intensified.
The full blockade imposed by the Israeli authorities on #Gaza has reached 50 days.
Everything is blocked at the crossings, regardless of how essential it is for people’s survival.
And people are dying.#LiftTheBlockade #OpenUpGaza pic.twitter.com/Hg1U00po9P
— OCHA OPT (Palestine) (@ochaopt) April 21, 2025
At Least 7 Martyred in Overnight Israeli Airstrikes
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza continued overnight, leaving at least seven civilians dead, according to the Gaza Civil Defense.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told AFP that Israeli occupation warplanes launched heavy air raids early Tuesday on Gaza City, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Khan Younis.
Gaza Strip witnesses intense Israeli airstrikes tonight targeting what remains of bulldozers and heavy machinery belonging to the municipalities, including equipment from Egyptian companies in the north and south. pic.twitter.com/7uAu8rGiJn
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) April 22, 2025
Basal confirmed that four people were killed when Israeli aircraft bombed the Bakr family home in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of western Gaza City, while two others were martyred in an airstrike targeting a house in the Al-Sabra area. Another person was killed in a separate strike on a home in Khan Younis.
Basal also noted that the Israeli army “demolished more than ten homes” in eastern Gaza City and Rafah, while an airstrike destroyed bulldozers and other equipment belonging to the Jabalia municipality in northern Gaza.
The moment an Israeli airstrike pounded a house in Gaza City’s Al-Tuffah neighborhood yesterday. pic.twitter.com/Rh2ifZ1VAQ
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) April 22, 2025
Israeli artillery shelling also hit the neighborhoods of Al-Daraj, Al-Tuffah, and Al-Shuja’iya in Gaza City, according to the same source.
New Ceasefire Talks Expected Soon
Negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel are expected to resume in the coming days.
According to the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency, a Hamas delegation is set to arrive in Cairo for talks aimed at halting the Israeli aggression on Gaza.
However, the Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Monday that the negotiations remain deadlocked.
The Gaza Ministry of Health has reported that, since October 7, 2023, the Israeli aggression has claimed the lives of 51,266 people and left 116,991 others injured.
Source: Al-Manar Website
