Gaza humanitarian work on 'verge of total collapse': Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip is on the “verge of total collapse” as Israel continues a genocidal war and maintains its criminal siege on the Palestinian territory.

In a statement released on Friday, the ICRC said it will not have access to the food, medicines, and life-saving supplies needed to sustain many of its programs in Gaza without an immediate resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to the besieged territory.

Israel launched its brutal Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, but it has failed to achieve its declared objectives despite killing at least 52,418 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 118,091 others. 

The usurping entity accepted longstanding negotiation terms by the Hamas resistance group under a Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19.

However, Israel unilaterally abandoned the truce on March 2, cutting off all humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. It also resumed its deadly bombing campaign and redeployed troops to the territory.

Pascal Hundt, ICRC Deputy Director of Operations, cautioned that without immediate action, Gaza will descend further into chaos.  

“Civilians in Gaza are facing an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance,” he said. “This situation must not—and cannot—be allowed to escalate further.”

22 killed in fresh Israeli strikes on Gaza

On Friday, Israeli warplanes conducted fresh aerial assaults across Gaza, killing at least 22 Palestinians, latest reports said.

One of the Israeli strikes hit a house in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza and claimed the lives of eight members of a family.

Two other Palestinians were killed and several were injured in another Israeli air raid that targeted Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.