News Center — The transport system in Gaza faces the risk of a near-total shutdown due to escalating logistical challenges and a shortage of basic resources. This impacts civilian movement and access to vital services, piling pressure on civilian sectors under complex and volatile field conditions.

With ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Gaza, the Ministry of Health in the Strip warned today, Saturday, July 11, of a halt in transport and ambulance services. The ministry emphasized that the remaining vehicles are no longer fit to meet daily needs, given the ongoing Israeli blockade and the ban on the entry of tires and spare parts.

The ministry explained that the remaining dilapidated transport and ambulance service vehicles are no longer viable to meet daily demands due to the accumulation of technical breakdowns and the unavailability of spare parts. It pointed out that Israel’s continued blockade on the Strip and its "ban on the entry of tires and spare parts could bring us to a scene of total paralysis in the transport system."

The ministry confirmed that the buses belonging to its contracted transport company are operating under difficult technical and mechanical conditions, with routine maintenance halted for months due to the lack of spare parts. It warned of the repercussions of a halt in transport services and the subsequent impact on the access of medical staff and patients to healthcare facilities.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza noted that its warnings last April had cautioned against a dangerous deterioration threatening the continuity of the health sector—particularly ambulance, emergency, and transport services—as a result of an acute shortage of fuel, oils, and spare parts. It explained that the continued ban on the entry of tires, oils, and spare parts hinders the maintenance of ambulance and transport vehicles, threatening to halt them at a time when medical needs within the Strip are surging.

This comes at a time when the ministry faces an acute shortage of equipment, devices, medicines, and medical supplies due to the war of genocide launched by Israel since October 2023, during which it deliberately targeted the ministry's facilities and vehicles, according to official and human rights reports.

Casualties

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that over the past few hours, the Strip's hospitals received 7 fatalities and 1 body recovered from under the rubble, alongside 28 wounded as a result of the continuous Israeli attacks. It explained that a number of victims remain under the debris and on the streets, as ambulance and civil defense crews continue to be unable to reach them due to field conditions.

The ministry added that since the ceasefire came into effect last October, the total number of victims has risen to more than 1,000 dead, while the number of injured reached 3,535, in addition to the recovery of 800 bodies.

The ministry indicated that the cumulative toll of the war on the Strip has risen to 73,221 dead and 173,643 injured, noting that 96 fatalities were added to the cumulative statistics after their data was completed and approved by the Martyrs Accreditation Committee for the period extending since the beginning of last June.