ISTANBUL

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned Sunday that the health care system in Gaza is extremely fragile as the genocide and blockade imposed by Israel continue unabated.

"In the last two weeks, the Red Cross Field Hospital in Rafah has had to activate its mass casualty incident procedure 12 times, receiving high numbers of patients with gunshot and shrapnel wounds," the organization said in a statement.

“An overwhelming majority of patients from the recent incidents said they had been trying to reach assistance distribution sites.”

The humanitarian agency said the services of the remaining health-care facilities must be preserved and reinforced to avert preventable deaths.

The warning came hours after Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that the death toll from the American-Israeli aid distribution sites had risen to 125, with 736 wounded and 9 missing since May 27. According to the office, 13 people were killed and 153 injured on Sunday alone in two separate incidents near those locations.

On May 27, Israel began implementing a controversial plan to distribute aid through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, bypassing UN oversight. Palestinians have denounced the move as a coercive tactic to force displacement from northern to southern Gaza.

The Red Cross also expressed concern over the intensifying hostilities around the few operational hospitals remaining in Gaza, saying: “Recent days have seen an increase in hostilities around the few remaining and functional hospitals.”

“This has made patient transfers between facilities increasingly challenging, and in many cases, patients cannot receive the intensive or specialized care they require.”

The organization called for the protection of health care infrastructure and personnel, warning that further loss of life is inevitable without urgent action. “It requires taking all feasible steps to support their work, ensure their safety, and guarantee that they are not deprived of vital resources needed to carry out their work.”

Medical teams “working to save patients under constant exposure to stray bullets, endangering the safety of those providing and receiving medical care,” the statement said, adding that this puts the field hospital's very capacity to operate in jeopardy.

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,900 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.