UNITED NATIONS, Mar 28, 2024 (BSS/TASS) - At least 24 out of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are non-functional, according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"The health system in Gaza is collapsing due to ongoing hostilities and access constraints, resulting in a growing number of hospitals that have been rendered out of service," the document said.

"As of 27 March, according to WHO, 24 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are non-functional, two are minimally functional in northern Gaza, and 10 are partially functional including four in northern Gaza and six in southern Gaza," according to the report.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas staged a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City. In response, Israel has declared a state of war readiness; announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians; and began delivering air strikes on the enclave and certain parts of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.