The Israeli government is refusing to allow any kind of humanitarian aid to reach the more than two million civilians trapped inside the besieged and blockaded Gaza Strip unless Palestinian militants agree to release approximately 100 Israeli hostages.
International aid groups are warning about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza after Israel instituted its total blockade of the region, preventing humanitarian aid such as food, water, fuel and electricity to reach the people in Gaza. Israeli government officials have tied the potential flow of aid to the freeing of hostages. (Related: Hostages held by Hamas in Gaza will be almost impossible to rescue, warns counterterrorism expert.)
Hamas militants have admitted to taking around 150 hostages from Israeli territory back to the Gaza Strip. Israeli authorities have identified at least 97 of them as Israeli.
Israeli Minister of Energy Israel Katz on Thursday said the country will continue depriving the Gaza Strip of electricity, water, food and fuel until all of the hostages are released.
"No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home," said Katz.
"Israel has denied even the Red Cross access to Gaza to provide emergency humanitarian aid to 2.5 million Palestinians trapped inside," commented Rick Wiles of "TruNews," who lamented the fact that the Gazans are trapped "with no food, no water, no electricity nor an escape route to get away from the Israeli bombing campaign."
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Without relief, Gaza hospitals could turn into "morgues"
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that Israel's ongoing blockade of electricity and fuel in the Gaza Strip could turn the region's hospitals into "morgues."
"As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk," warned ICRC Regional Director for the Near and Middle East Fabrizio Carboni. "Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues."
Carboni noted that newborn incubators, kidney dialysis machines, X-rays and other medical equipment are all dependent on power that Israel's blockade has throttled.
"The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians," Carboni said.
Hospitals in Gaza have been overwhelmed by the constant stream of wounded, and all are also running dangerously low on medical supplies. ICRC and United Nations estimates suggest these hospitals only have a few days' worth of fuel left before their power cuts off.
The situation has been made worse by Israel's deliberate targeting of health infrastructure. At least 14 health facilities have been damaged in strikes.
"The situation is very critical," said Dr. Mohammad Abu Selmia, director of Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital. "We've never seen days in Gaza like what we see now."
At least 1,500 Palestinians, including 500 children, have so far been killed in Gaza by Israeli air and artillery strikes, with over 6,000 more injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. If Israel continues to refuse to listen to relief groups who are calling for the protection of Palestinian civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, the number of civilian casualties in Gaza is likely to keep increasing.
The situation could be further complicated by an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza. Israeli military spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht noted that Israel Defense Forces "are preparing for a ground maneuver" should political leaders order one.
A ground offensive in Gaza, where the population of two million is densely packed into a sliver of land only around 25 miles long, would likely bring even higher casualties not just from brutal urban fighting but also from the inevitable civilian casualties caused by an Israeli offensive.
Watch this episode of "TruNews" as host Rick Wiles discusses Israel's siege of Gaza.
This video is from the TruNews channel on Brighteon.com.
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