Five United Nations agencies warned that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has become catastrophic, and confirmed that hospitals can no longer accommodate the wounded, while Turkey announced that it is considering establishing field hospitals in Al-Arish and Rafah in Egypt to treat the injured and sick people of the Strip.

The five agencies — the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) — said in a joint statement that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was miserable before the current war and is now catastrophic.

"Children are dying at an alarming rate, (and they are) deprived of their right to protection, food, water and medical care," she said. Gaza's hospitals are overwhelmed by the wounded, and civilians face great difficulty in accessing basic foodstuffs.

In their statement, the five UN agencies called on the international community to do more to help the people of the Gaza Strip.

On Saturday, the first humanitarian aid convoy entered the Strip, which has been besieged by Israel since 2007, including 20 trucks coming through the Rafah crossing. But that number is very small and is a drop in the sea of humanitarian needs in Gaza, according to the United Nations, which wants 100 trucks a day to bring in to the relief of the territory's 2.2 million residents, who have been subjected to Israeli bombardment for more than two weeks.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday at a "peace summit" in Cairo that "the people of Gaza need so much more. It is necessary to deliver assistance in large quantities."


Turkish aid and medical team

In a related context, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that his country will send a plane belonging to the Turkish presidency on Sunday morning to Egypt loaded with medicines and medical supplies as part of his country's aid to the people of Gaza.

Koca explained in a post on the "X" platform (formerly Twitter) that the plane is loaded with medicines and medical supplies to help the residents of Gaza, and on board a medical team of 20 specialized doctors.

The Turkish minister pointed out that he held the necessary talks with his Egyptian counterpart Khaled Abdel Ghaffar to transport aid destined for the residents of Gaza through Egyptian territory.

He pointed out that the Turkish medical team will work with Egyptian officials to inventory medicines and urgent medical supplies for the residents of Gaza.

Koca reported that the Turkish medical team will study with the Egyptian side the possibility of establishing field hospitals at Al-Arish airport and at the Rafah border crossing to treat injured Palestinians crossing Rafah into Egypt.

He said that Turkey intends to send the necessary equipment for the establishment of field hospitals and ambulances via a special ship to Egypt, after the completion of the necessary preparations.

The Turkish medical team also plans to complete preparations for the delivery of medicines and medical equipment to the concerned authorities in order to deliver them to the affected people in the Gaza Strip.


Indian Aid

In the context of international aid to the besieged Gaza Strip, India announced on Sunday that it had sent about 38 tons of humanitarian aid to Sinai in Egypt intended for Palestinian civilians in the besieged enclave, according to the Indian Foreign Ministry.

A source at the Indian Foreign Ministry said the humanitarian aid included medicines, surgical supplies, tents, hygiene supplies and water purification tablets, among other items.

The Israeli occupation has imposed a suffocating siege on Gaza for more than two weeks, preventing it from water, electricity, food and medicine, and intensifying its raids on the Strip, where 4651,1800 of its residents were killed, including more than 976,13 children and <> women, in addition to the injury of more than <>,<>.

On Saturday, the first humanitarian aid convoy entered Gaza since the beginning of the war, after an Egyptian-American-Israeli agreement, and the convoy included 20 trucks loaded with medicines, medical supplies and a limited amount of food, to be distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

However, UN and Palestinian sources stated that the aid allowed in meets only a fraction of the needs of the Gaza Strip, and demanded that more humanitarian aid be allowed in.

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said the Gaza Strip needs 7,20 trucks, adding, "What will 500 trucks do to the Gaza Strip, which needs 7 trucks a day? The current shortfall in food, medicine and electricity since October 7 can only be covered by at least <>,<> trucks."