AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The Embassy of Palestine in India has urged the Indian government to provide urgent medical assistance to Palestinians, warning that the healthcare sector in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is on the verge of collapse amid Israel's ongoing genocide and severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies.
The embassy called on India to extend assistance under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Aarogya Maitri" initiative, which aims to provide essential medical supplies to countries facing humanitarian emergencies and disasters.
"Recently, the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India announced the 'Aarogya Maitri' project, where he pledged that India would provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crises," the statement said.
"It is the exact moment to save thousands of innocent lives. If not India and the Indian people, then who? If not now, then when?" the embassy asked.
The embassy called on the Government of India, humanitarian organisations, medical institutions and civil society groups to support the Palestinian healthcare sector and help ensure the immediate delivery of humanitarian and medical aid.
"The Palestinian healthcare sector is in desperate need of urgent international support, including the immediate provision of life-saving medicines and medical supplies worth $100 million," the embassy said.
Citing data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the embassy said only 19 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially operational and that the enclave's health system had reached a "breaking point".
It highlighted critical shortages of anaesthesia, antibiotics, dialysis supplies, blood units, insulin, surgical equipment and fuel needed to operate hospital generators.
The statement also warned of worsening public health conditions caused by overcrowded displacement camps, shortages of clean water, the collapse of sanitation systems and the continued presence of bodies trapped under rubble, describing the situation as an "unprecedented humanitarian and public health catastrophe".
The embassy said nearly 180 of the 520 essential medicines required by the Palestinian Ministry of Health are currently unavailable, while 50 of the 97 medicines used for cancer treatment have reached zero stock levels, placing nearly 4,000 cancer patients at immediate risk.
Notably, Palestinian health authorities said on Thursday that Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 73,018 Palestinians and wounded 173,273 since October 7, 2023.
They said Israeli attacks have killed 1,007 people and wounded 3,165 since the “ceasefire” took effect on October 11, while rescue teams have recovered 784 bodies from areas that had previously been inaccessible.
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