Gaza City – Intensified military operations across the Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of at least 51 Palestinians since dawn on May 22, 2025, according to local reports. The renewed offensive has severely impacted civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, and triggered new displacement orders for residents in northern areas, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis gripping the besieged enclave.
Impact on Healthcare Infrastructure
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that Israeli forces targeted essential infrastructure at the Indonesian Hospital, bombing three electric power generators and fuel storage tanks critical for its operation. Separately, Gaza’s Al-Awda Hospital is now reportedly surrounded. These attacks contribute to the critical collapse of the healthcare system; only 19 of Gaza’s original 38 hospitals remain operational, and those functioning are doing so at a severely limited capacity amidst acute shortages of supplies and personnel.
New Displacement Orders Issued
In parallel with the military intensification, thousands of Palestinian families were compelled to abandon their homes in northern Gaza following new forced evacuation orders targeting the areas of Beit Lahia and Jabaliya. This latest wave of displacement adds to the mass movement of populations within the territory since the conflict began, further straining limited resources in areas deemed safer and deepening the humanitarian emergency.
Severe Humanitarian Aid Shortages
The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, marked by a near-total blockade on the entry of essential goods, including food, water, and medicine. On Wednesday, only 100 trucks carrying humanitarian aid were permitted entry into Gaza. U.N. officials stated this number represents a minuscule fraction of the estimated 9,000 trucks laden with vital supplies that Israel continues to hold up at Gaza’s border crossings.
These officials warn that the current trickle of aid is drastically insufficient to avert a widespread famine. Furthermore, they noted that even the limited aid that enters has faced significant difficulties in being distributed effectively due to the challenging and dangerous conditions facing humanitarian workers on the ground. The severe scarcity of food is starkly illustrated by reports of starving children lining up for hours at a community kitchen in Gaza City, hoping for a single meal.
Developments in the West Bank
Tensions also persist in the occupied West Bank. On Wednesday, Israeli soldiers reportedly fired shots towards an international diplomatic delegation in the city of Jenin. Details regarding the identity of the delegation members or the circumstances of the firing were not immediately clear, but the incident underscores the volatile security environment beyond the Gaza Strip.
Outlook
The events of May 22, 2025, underscore the escalating scale and impact of the military operations in Gaza. The combination of mounting casualties, direct impacts on critical civilian infrastructure like hospitals, forced displacement, and a severely choked humanitarian aid pipeline presents an increasingly bleak picture for the population. International bodies continue to raise urgent alarms about the potential for a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale unless the flow of aid is dramatically increased and civilians and critical infrastructure are protected.
