MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have a severe shortage of medicines, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal said on Rossiya-24 television.

"Even if people go to hospitals, they cannot be served there, as there is nothing there. We have appealed to the international communities, asking for their help," he said.

The diplomat said not only medicines are in short supply, but also food and electricity. According to Nofal, if the Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border is opened, it could improve the situation, but it will still take some time.

The situation in the Middle East sharply escalated following an incursion of Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into Israel on October 7. Hamas regards the attack as a response to Israeli actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and has started delivering strikes on that area and parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.