UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq delivered the grim news Friday, saying the main crossings into the north have been closed and no food or other essential supplies have entered since Oct. 1.

More than 400,000 people who remain in the north are under increasing pressure to move south, Haq said.

The humanitarian organization MedGlobal, which has worked in Gaza since 2018, said Friday that the Israeli army’s renewed assault have driven the remaining health care facilities in the north “to the brink of collapse.”

Three hospitals with hundreds of patients including children in intensive care — Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda and the Indonesian Hospital — have been ordered to evacuate by Israeli authorities and are on the verge of running out of fuel.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan and MedGlobal’s lead physician in Gaza, said Friday that the hospital just received “numerous injuries and fatalities due to the targeting of Al Naji area.” The hospital’s intensive care unit is overcrowded and the “catastrophic situation … will worsen in the coming hours if there is no fuel for emergency services,” he said in a statement.

On the overall dire situation throughout Gaza, Haq said the UN World Food Program reports that it has been unable to deliver food parcels to the more than 1 million Palestinians who receive them so far this month “due to constrained access of aid supplies.”

In the north, WFP said kitchens, distribution points and bakeries have either been forced to shut down or are at risk of shutting down if the conflict continues, Haq said, adding that the bakeries are also running out of wheat flour.

Despite the challenges, Haq said, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA and its partners are distributing bread, meals and flour to designated shelters and beyond.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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