Egypt Daily News – The president of the Red Cross described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as “hell on earth”, warning that their field hospital would run out of essential supplies within two weeks.
“We are facing a situation I can only describe as hell on earth. People are being denied access to water, food, and electricity in many parts of Gaza,” Mirjana Spoljaric told Reuters at the International Committee of the Red Cross headquarters in Geneva.
Since Israel blocked aid trucks on March 2 amid stalled negotiations over a broken truce, no new humanitarian supplies have entered Gaza. Israel resumed its military operations on March 18.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that 25,000 aid trucks had entered Gaza during the 42 days of ceasefire, alleging that Hamas had diverted the aid to rebuild its war machine—a claim Hamas denies.
Spoljaric warned that supplies were dangerously low. “For six weeks, nothing has come in. In a matter of weeks, we will run out of the essentials needed to sustain the hospital,” she said. The World Health Organization confirmed that stocks of antibiotics and blood bags were running critically low, and Dr. Rik Peeperkorn of the WHO reported that 22 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were barely operational.
Spoljaric also voiced grave concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers. “It’s extremely dangerous for the population to move, and it’s even more perilous for us to operate,” she said.
In March, the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers—including eight from the Palestinian Red Crescent—were discovered in a mass grave in southern Gaza. The U.N. and the Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of killing them, though the Israeli military later claimed that the incident was due to a perceived threat from nearby Hamas militants.
Spoljaric called for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate the release of hostages held by Hamas and address Gaza’s catastrophic humanitarian needs.
Since Israel’s military offensive began in October 2023 following a deadly Hamas-led raid that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages, over 50,800 Palestinians have died, and much of Gaza has been reduced to ruins.
