Shafaq News – Gaza

The first medical shipment to the Gaza Strip since early March was delivered on Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced, calling it “a drop in the ocean” compared to the enclave’s urgent humanitarian needs.

Posting on X, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that nine trucks carrying critical medical supplies, including 2,000 units of blood and 1,500 units of plasma, had entered the territory and would be distributed to priority hospitals within days.

Yesterday @WHO delivered its first medical shipment into #Gaza since 2 March - 9 trucks carrying essential medical supplies, 2000 units of blood, and 1500 units of plasma.The supplies were transported from Kerem Shalom, without any looting incident, despite the high-risk… pic.twitter.com/umwGRNXvXM

— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 26, 2025

The shipment comes amid intensifying Israeli airstrikes. Gaza’s civil defense reported that 56 people were killed in Israeli attacks, including six civilians who were waiting for humanitarian aid.

Civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told AFP that 17 people were killed in a single strike near the Al-Baraka junction in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Others were killed near aid distribution points in the north and south of the territory, including three victims near the Netzarim corridor and three more near a distribution center in northern Rafah.

Tensions rose further after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of seizing incoming humanitarian aid.

Earlier, in a statement issued alongside Defense Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu claimed to have received reports that “Hamas is once again taking control of aid deliveries in northern Gaza and stealing them from civilians.” He said he had instructed the military to develop a plan to prevent Hamas from intercepting aid.

Gazan tribal leaders rejected Netanyahu’s accusations, defending the humanitarian distribution process amid deepening hardship.

International criticism of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has grown, especially as access to aid remains severely restricted. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez became the first European leader of his rank to describe the situation in Gaza as “genocide”.

The United Nations warns that more than two million residents of Gaza face the threat of famine after over 20 months of war.