Israel has intensified air strikes on Gaza, and the local medical system is facing collapse

(Cairo) Gaza residents said that the Israeli military launched one of the largest air strikes in weeks on Tuesday (April 22). Health officials have once again warned that Gaza's healthcare system is facing a total collapse due to Israel's blockade of all supplies.

Residents said that several areas of Gaza were bombed with military tanks, aircraft and naval vessels, and houses, tent camps and roads were blown up. The air strike destroyed the bulldozers and vehicles used to clear the debris and assist in removing the trapped bodies.

Since the beginning of March, Israel has completely blocked all supplies to Gaza and resumed military operations on March 18 after the ceasefire agreement broke down.

The vaccination of 600,000 children against polio was forced to be suspended

The Gaza Ministry of Health said that a UN-backed effort to vaccinate more than 600,000 children against Polio (commonly known as infantile paralysis) has been forced to suspend.

Khalil Dekran, a spokesperson for the Gaza Ministry of Health, said that the disruption of material supplies has put the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients in hospitals in the Gaza Strip at risk.

He said that if the polio vaccine couldn't be delivered immediately, "we expected a real disaster." Children and patients must never be used as bargaining chips for political blackmail. He also pointed out that currently 60,000 children are showing symptoms of malnutrition.

Israel's 18-month-long bombing operation has made almost all buildings in Gaza uninhabitable. Most of the 2.3 million people in Gaza are currently living in makeshift open-air tents. Since the full lockdown was implemented last month, all 25 bakeries provided by the United Nations have been closed.