The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has issued a dire warning that Gaza’s healthcare system is on the brink of total collapse, as Israeli occupation forces continue a brutal and sustained campaign that rights groups and observers increasingly describe as genocidal.

According to a statement published Sunday and reported by the Qatar News Agency, the ICRC revealed that hundreds of injured Palestinians have been targeted and wounded while desperately attempting to reach aid distribution centers in the devastated Gaza Strip.

The ICRC’s findings come amid over a year and a half of relentless Israeli bombardment, siege, and ground operations that have turned Gaza into what many now call an “open-air graveyard.” The few hospitals that remain functional are under siege, both physically and operationally, as attacks continue to intensify around medical facilities.

“Medical teams are risking their lives to provide care under fire,” the ICRC stated, warning that the lives of both patients and healthcare workers are in grave danger. “The safety of these critical healthcare centers must be respected and guaranteed immediately.”

Field hospitals, including those run by the ICRC, are overwhelmed. In Rafah, which has seen some of the worst violence, more than 916 patients were admitted to the ICRC-run field hospital in just the past two weeks. Heartbreakingly, 41 of those patients were declared dead on arrival—many victims of direct military aggression or denied timely access to care due to roadblocks and destruction of infrastructure.

The ICRC has sounded the alarm that without an urgent cessation of hostilities and a massive humanitarian intervention, the medical system in Gaza will completely collapse, leading to countless preventable deaths.

Palestinian health officials and human rights organizations have long warned that Israel’s systematic targeting of hospitals, ambulances, and civilian infrastructure constitutes a war crime. The latest statement from the ICRC adds further credibility to calls for international accountability and urgent protection for Palestinian civilians under siege.

As Gaza’s people endure daily bombings, starvation, and medical deprivation, global pressure is mounting for an immediate end to the violence and the full restoration of humanitarian access. (ILKHA)