Ministry’s director general warns every delay costs lives amid critical shortages and international inaction
GAZA CITY — Gaza’s health chief on Sunday warned that the current humanitarian truce would be meaningless if not used to save lives, stressing that inaction and delay have deadly consequences.
“The humanitarian truce is not a time for silence,” said Munir Al-Bursh, the Gaza Health Ministry’s director general. “It must be a moment to rescue those still clinging to life.”
In a statement, Bursh described a dire situation where children go hungry, the wounded cry out for help, and mothers collapse in grief amid widespread destruction.
He urged “immediate medical evacuations for critically wounded patients, including those with severe head and spinal injuries, and others requiring surgeries and treatments unavailable in Gaza due to Israel’s siege.”
He also called for the urgent entry of life-saving medical and nutritional supplies, including antibiotics, infant formula, protein-rich food, and therapeutic supplements.
According to Bursh, many patients are on the brink of death simply because they cannot access treatment outside Gaza.
“This truce means nothing if it does not become a real opportunity to save lives,” he said. “Every delay leads to a new funeral, and every moment of silence costs a child’s life.”
This comes as Israel announced on Sunday plans for localized temporary pauses in fighting to allow aid delivery through designated safe corridors, amid mounting accusations that such measures are an attempt to whitewash its role in the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 59,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. — AA
