"People in Gaza are very afraid to go into the streets, which are virtually empty. The hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to cope with the scale and type of injuries that keep coming in," said Marianne Robyn Whittington, an ICRC health delegate in Gaza.

The influx of war wounded has put a tremendous strain on Gaza's already overburdened hospitals, which are in dire need of medical equipment. Their stocks of supplies and medicines were already severely depleted due to the difficulty in bringing medical items into the Strip in recent months.

"Our first priority is to get more medical supplies to the hospitals right away," said Pierre Wettach, head of the ICRC's delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. "It is therefore essential that this urgent humanitarian assistance is allowed to enter into Gaza."

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has provided extra staff to hospitals, while workers and volunteers have been helping to evacuate the dead and wounded from damaged or destroyed buildings. The ICRC has so far managed to provide medical supplies to two hospitals in Gaza to meet the urgent needs of several hundred war wounded. An ICRC shipment of more medical supplies, intravenous fluids and spare parts for hospital generators is expected to be delivered on Sunday. It's hoped that five Palestine Red Crescent ambulances will be sent from Jerusalem to Gaza on Monday.

The ICRC reminds the parties to the hostilities that international humanitarian law requires that a clear distinction be drawn between the civilian population and civilian objects on the one side, and military objectives on the other side. In particular, the ICRC underlines the obligation of the parties to take all feasible precautions in order to spare the civilian population from the effects of hostilities. Medical facilities and personnel must also be protected.

“The ICRC calls on those involved in the hostilities to exercise restraint, and urgently reminds them of their obligation to comply with international humanitarian law at all times," said Wettach.