The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as “hell on earth,” warning that supplies at the organization’s field hospital would run out within two weeks.
“We now find ourselves in a situation I would have to describe as hell on earth,” Spoljaric told Reuters from the organization’s Geneva headquarters. “People have no access to water, electricity, or food in many areas.”
She added that supplies were dangerously low. “For six weeks, nothing has entered, so within two weeks we will run out of the supplies we need to keep the hospital running.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that supplies of antibiotics and blood bags were rapidly running out. Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem that 22 of the 36 hospitals in the Strip were operating at a minimum level.
The ICRC president also expressed concern about the safety of humanitarian operations.
“Moving people is extremely dangerous, but it is particularly dangerous for our work,” Spoljaric said.
