Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “Community Minor Injury and Illness Units and GP practices across the county will continue to provide services and if people have an urgent care need, but are not sure which service to use, they are asked to visit 111.nhs.uk in the first instance or call 111 for advice.”

BBC

“I met a little boy who was wounded by a tank shell at one of these sites on the final day of me leaving Gaza – I learnt that this little boy had since died of those injuries,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That speaks to both what is happening at these sites and what is not happening when it comes to medical evacuations.”

A recent online video featuring a dying 13-year-old Abed al-Rahman who Mr. Elder met while on mission in Gaza has been seen thousands of times since it was published on 6 June. In the clip, Abed explains that he has been asking for pain relief for his shrapnel wounds, but none is available.

Speaking to journalists from Amman, Mr. Elder explained that partly destroyed hospitals including Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis continue to treat wounded children, despite a shortage of medicine and medical supplies.

“Humanitarian aid is so much more than food in a box; it’s oxygen kits, it’s ventilators, it’s hygiene packs; it’s medicines, it’s incubators,” he explained. “It’s all those things the United Nations was doing just a couple of months ago.”

Mr. Elder added that parents whose children need oxygen have been leaving hospital “because of the fear that Nasser may come under attack again. As the doctors told me, if you have a child who needs oxygen and they leave without the oxygen, they will, over a matter of time, die in a tent.”

Desperation, starvation

The dire shortage of the most basic life-sustaining aid linked to Israeli restrictions continues to create desperation and starvation across Gaza.

“I spoke to a grandmother in tears saying, how am I possibly to get to these sites?” Mr. Elder explained. “I’ve met young men who’ve been seven times and never returned with anything. So, there’s a complete lack of equity. There’s a complete lack of sites. You cannot distribute aid in a militarised zone, in a combat zone, by one party to the conflict.”

Those most susceptible to the lack of fresh drinking water, food and fuel are the weakest Gazans: the young, pregnant women, the elderly and amputees, Mr. Elder said. 

It would be impossible for them to walk the long distances required to fetch scant supplies from controversial non-UN aid hubs.

Lethal choice

“You have half a million people facing starvation with a lethal choice of being forced into very small pockets where most people can’t access into what are officially known as combat sites,” the UNICEF spokesperson explained. “We know children [who have been] killed at these sites.”

Meanwhile, malnutrition and the impact of it on people’s weakened immune systems continues to take its toll, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned.

“The latest reports say 610 patients have been admitted due to severe malnutrition complications,” said WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier. “But what does that mean? That means these are the lucky ones who made it so far to get to a place. 

“This does not count the many who were too weak to reach any point, who are too weak, who cannot be transported because the roads are blocked, because there are no ambulances, or because the hospitals, some of the health emergency centres have been shelled and bombed and are being constantly shelled and bombed.”

Getty Images

Getty Images

These include severe limb injuries, amputations, spinal cord trauma, traumatic brain injuries and major burns.

Israeli forces pushed into Gaza in response to the 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in southern Israel.

Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, highlighted that the surge in rehabilitation needs is occurring alongside the wholesale collapse of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.

“Patients can’t get the care they need. Acute rehabilitation services are severely disrupted and specialized care for complex injuries is not available, placing patients’ lives at risk. Immediate and long-term support is urgently needed to address the enormous rehabilitation needs.”

Services non-existent

Services such as wound care, physical therapy, and psychological support are either inaccessible or entirely unavailable, leaving thousands at risk of further complications, disabilities or even death.

According to the UN health agency, only 17 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remain partially functional, primary healthcare and community-level services are frequently suspended, due to insecurity, attacks and repeated evacuation orders.

Gaza’s only limb reconstruction and rehabilitation centre, located in the Nasser Medical Complex and supported by WHO, has been non-functional since December 2023 due to lack of supplies and staff, and was further damaged in a February 2024 raid.

Additionally, the loss of trained physiotherapists due to the fighting between Israel and Hamas has further hampered rehabilitation efforts.

Thousands more at risk

The figures, detailed in WHO’s analysis Estimating Trauma Rehabilitation Needs in Gaza using Injury Data from Emergency Medical Teams, reflect data as of 23 July.

Beyond the newly injured, tens of thousands of Palestinians already living with chronic conditions or impairments are now at heightened risk due to the collapse of critical services, WHO said.

As the hostilities continue, WHO emphasized the need for safe access to all essential health services, including rehabilitation, to prevent further suffering.

It renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire to facilitate aid, rebuild the health system and save lives.

Economic devastation

The ongoing conflict has also left Gaza’s already fragile economy in ruins.

According to a report published on Thursday by UN Trade and Development, UNCTAD, the Strip’s gross domestic product (GDP) has fallen by a staggering 81 per cent, pushing the region into an unprecedented economic crisis.

Massive job losses and soaring unemployment have worsened poverty, leaving most families in dire need of humanitarian assistance, UNCTAD said, adding that the economy of the West Bank has also been severely disrupted by violence, demolitions, confiscations and settlement expansions.

Calculations, based on Palestinian central Bureau of Statistics quarterly national accounts.

“The Palestinian government’s fiscal stability is under immense pressure, jeopardizing its ability to function effectively and provide essential services,” it noted.

The report called for urgent intervention by the international community to stabilize the economy, rebuild infrastructure and support long-term peace efforts in the region.

“This includes considering a comprehensive recovery plan for the occupied Palestinian territory, increased international aid and support, release of withheld revenues and lifting the blockade on Gaza.”

Experts denounce harassment of journalists

In a news release on Thursday, independent UN human rights experts condemned the escalating violence, harassment and obstruction of journalists in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s military offensive there on 27 August.

“We strongly denounce the attacks and harassment of journalists in the illegally occupied West Bank, which are nothing but crude attempts by the Israeli army to block independent reporting on potential war crimes,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said.

At least three incidents in September involved Israeli security forces firing live ammunition at journalists and their vehicles in Jenin and Tulkarm while they were reporting on military operations and civilian casualties.

Four more were injured, even though several were wearing clearly marked press jackets.

Israeli forces also impeded journalists – including an Al Jazeera team – from doing their work, forcing them to delete material and subjecting them to intimidation. At least one journalist was arbitrarily arrested and interrogated, while numerous others reported being chased down by bulldozers operated by Israeli security forces.

Disdain for the press

“It is deeply disturbing to see Israeli soldiers in the West Bank replicating the same disdain for the safety of journalists as in Gaza in blatant violation of international law. Foreign media continue to be denied access to Gaza and now their safety in the West Bank is also being seriously threatened, gravely hindering their journalistic work,” the experts said.

Since October 2023, at least 29 journalists have been detained by Israeli forces in the West Bank, and three by the Palestinian Authority. Some remain under administrative detention, with documented cases of ill-treatment, including sexual and gender-based violence.

The experts added that Israel, as an occupying power, must respect the work and safety of journalists in the occupied Palestinian Territory, as required by international law. They further noted that they are in contact with the Israeli Government on the issue.

Appointed and mandated by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the experts are mandated to monitor and report on specific thematic or country situations. Independent of the United Nations, they are not UN staff and do not draw a salary for their work.