Gaza Health Ministry urges immediate global intervention to supply blood units

The crisis stems from the surging number of casualties and the population’s growing inability to donate blood due to widespread malnutrition.

In an official statement, the Ministry called on international, humanitarian, and UN organizations to “immediately deliver sufficient quantities of blood units.” It stressed that the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, compounded by the ongoing Israeli assault, has left the health sector on the brink of collapse.

“Hospitals in the Gaza Strip are facing an acute and dangerous shortage of blood units due to the continuous rise in the number of injuries, the strict Zionist regime’s blockade preventing medical supplies from entering, and the deteriorating nutritional status of civilians,” the statement read.

The Ministry called on global bodies, including the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to take immediate action and pressure Israel to allow the entry of adequate blood supplies and necessary medical materials.

The Ministry also appealed to the international community and human rights organizations to “fulfill their moral and humanitarian responsibilities and act urgently to save the lives of hundreds of patients and wounded.”

The statement comes amid an already dire shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies. In its most recent data from April, the Ministry reported that more than 37% of essential medications and 59% of medical consumables were completely unavailable in its warehouses.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Ministry revealed that hundreds of patients and wounded individuals in the remaining functioning hospitals are unable to continue treatment due to the depletion of medical supplies — a direct result of Israel’s ongoing military assault, now in its eighth consecutive month.

Medical sources confirm that injuries are increasing dramatically due to intensified Israeli bombings and gunfire, particularly following the launch of “Gideon’s Chariots” military operation on May 17.

Since launching its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the Israeli military has deliberately targeted Gaza’s health infrastructure, rendering most hospitals non-operational and putting the lives of thousands of patients and injured civilians at risk.

Gaza has been plunged into a catastrophic humanitarian and relief crisis since Israel shut all border crossings on March 2, effectively blocking the entry of food, medicine, humanitarian aid, and fuel, while escalating what human rights organizations describe as an ongoing campaign of genocide.

The martyr toll has exceeded 182,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with over 11,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands displaced and widespread famine that has claimed the lives of many — including children. The destruction across Gaza is vast and still growing.