Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports that the prolonged and systematic Israeli policy of siege and blockade of the entire Gaza Strip has led to severe repercussions at the humanitarian level.

“Gaza’s hospitals are operating beyond capacity. In light of chronic shortages of medical supplies, the situation is now unprecedented,” he adds. “The situation is very difficult for every single person here in Gaza – you have 200,000 Palestinians suffering from chronic diseases in very desperate need of essential medicines.”

Azzoum reports that Palestinians are forced to cut down on the number of daily meals and are eating only canned goods and vegetables that they can afford. Prices of those have skyrocketed.

“We can see the very psychological toll of the city on the faces of everyone here, people are walking very exhausted, traumatised,” Azzoum adds. “They are thinking about the dark future that awaits them.

“People are not just dying here from bombardment, but they have started to die from malnutrition, and many of them feel psychologically broken due to their inability to provide meals for their children.”