DUBAI, May 15. /TASS/. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is deteriorating due to the closure of border crossings, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement.

According to the organization, the ongoing closure of border crossings, "especially the vital Rafah crossing - which is the main artery supply for the entire Gaza Strip - prevents the entry of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, as well as fuel, and poses a humanitarian and health disaster." "This means that famine is imminent with the depletion of food stocks," the statement added. "Furthermore, the continued prevention of fuel entry threatens the complete collapse of the healthcare system and the shutdown of the remaining hospitals if fuel is not provided to power generators, ambulances, water desalination stations and sewage networks," the organization added.

The PRCS called on the international community to urgently intervene and pressure the Israeli authorities to open border crossings and allow unimpeded, sustainable and unconditional flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking people hostage. In response, Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza, started carrying out strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria, and launched a ground operation in the enclave. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.