This came in a statement by Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, commenting on the killing of two Palestinians by a bomb fired by an Israeli drone east of Gaza City, as part of ongoing Israeli violations.
Qassem considered that “the escalation of Israeli violations represented by the daily killings, as happened on Sunday morning in the Shuja’iyya neighborhood, is a continuation of the occupation’s violations of the ceasefire agreement in the sector, and will increase the severity of the humanitarian situation.”
Speaking about the humanitarian situation, Qassem mentioned the continued collapse of buildings damaged by Israeli bombing during the genocide, on top of their inhabitants.
He pointed out that this reflects "the worsening risks to the humanitarian situation in the sector, in light of the tightening of the Israeli blockade, the prevention of reconstruction operations, and the failure to allow the entry of appropriate shelter supplies."
Earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Interior and National Security in Gaza announced the martyrdom of 18 Palestinians as a result of the collapse of 46 buildings damaged by the Israeli aggression, since the ceasefire agreement came into effect on October 10.
Drug shortage
In a related context, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza warned on Sunday of a serious deterioration in drug stocks in the sector’s hospitals due to shortages of 52 percent in medicines and 71 percent in medical supplies.
This came in a statement issued by the ministry, following a press conference held at Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City, to highlight the serious repercussions of the shortage of medicines, medical and laboratory supplies.
The ministry said in the statement that the health system is experiencing "a serious and unprecedented state of depletion, after two years of war and a complete blockade, which has led to a sharp decline in its ability to provide diagnostic and treatment services."
In detailing the lists of shortages, the ministry explained that the number of basic pharmaceutical items that had zero stock in its warehouses amounted to 321 pharmaceutical items, and the number of zero stock items of medical consumables reached 710 items.
She added that the deficit in emergency and intensive care services reached 38 percent, which may deprive 200,000 patients of emergency services, 100,000 patients of operations, and 700 of intensive care. She indicated that the deficit in the kidney service list led to “depriving 650 kidney dialysis patients, who need 7,823 sessions per month.”
The ministry also reported that a number of cancer patients died, as the shortage in the list of therapeutic cancer drugs reached 70 percent, depriving a thousand patients of service. It added that 62 percent of primary care drugs are unavailable, and what is available "does not meet the real needs of the 288,208 patients."
arrests
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities announced the arrest of three Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claiming they had entered Israel “illegally” on October 7, 2023, a claim denied by Palestinian security sources, who asserted that they possessed work permits.
In a joint statement with the Ministry of National Security, the Israeli police said that police officers and border guards "arrested three Gaza residents in the city of Rahat (south), who entered Israel under the cover of the Hamas attack on October 7," claiming that the forces "confiscated dozens of stolen military ammunition rounds from their possession."
Amid talk of moving to the second phase, Israel continues to evade fulfilling its obligations under the agreement, from the ceasefire to preventing the entry of agreed-upon quantities of food, medical aid trucks and shelter materials.
The agreement ended a genocidal war that Israel began on October 8, 2023, and which lasted for two years, leaving about 71,000 Palestinian martyrs and more than 171,000 wounded, and massive destruction that affected 90 percent of the civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at about $70 billion.
