Red Cross says Gaza healthcare has collapsed as aid seekers shot

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says its teams are treating Palestinians wounded while trying to collect food, warning that Gaza’s health system has all but collapsed.

Felicity Gapes, the ICRC’s deputy health coordinator in Gaza, described the desperation driving women and children to brave deadly conditions just to feed their families.

“I spoke to a mother who had gone with her 15-year-old daughter to try and access food for their family. Many of these women are now the main provider for their extended families,” she said.

According to Gapes, one girl witnessed her mother being shot. “They told me they thought it would be safe, but now they know ‘nowhere in Gaza is safe.’”

Gapes added that hospitals in the besieged enclave can no longer cope. “The healthcare system is in catastrophic condition,” she warned, urging for immediate deliveries of medical supplies, staff, and essential equipment.