Gaza conditions worsen amid warnings that shortages could ‘kill many, many people’

Shortages of food, fuel and electricity in Gaza “are going to kill many, many people,” a senior aid official warned Friday, as Israel’s siege and bombardment of the enclave approached the two-week mark, while life-saving aid risks being stuck in Egypt for another day.

A spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said Friday that seven hospitals and 21 primary care health centers had been rendered “out of service,” and 64 medical staff have been killed, as Israel continues its airstrikes on Gaza.

Aid supplies in limbo

Around 200 trucks carrying vital aid destined for Gaza remain stuck in Egypt, despite a frantic diplomatic effort to open the Rafah Crossing. Negotiations continued through Thursday as workers filled dangerous road craters from Israeli bombing to allow up to 20 trucks to pass in an initial delivery.

Video released Friday by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights showed “repair work and paving the road between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides” at the Rafah Crossing. Egyptian authorities have begun to remove cement blocks at the entrance to the crossing in preparation for its opening, several drivers at the crossing told CNN.

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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/20/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-war-friday-intl-hnk/index.html