The organization explained that a team from it and other United Nations agencies was able, on Saturday, to deliver medical supplies to the Al-Shifa Complex, located in the west of Gaza City (north), which is the largest hospital in the Strip.
She indicated in a statement on Sunday that “tens of thousands of displaced people” had taken refuge in this complex, which “lacked” water and food.
She added, “The team (that visited the complex) described the emergency services as a ‘bloodbath’, with hundreds of injured patients inside and new patients arriving every minute,” noting that patients suffering from shocks are receiving treatment on the ground and that “measures to relieve pain are very limited.” And it’s not even available.”
The organization reported that the medical complex was working at its minimum capacity with a very limited medical team, and that “patients in serious condition were transferred to the Arab National Hospital (Baptist) to undergo surgical operations.”
The organization’s statement quoted the team that visited Al-Shifa as saying that the hospital also needs a “rehabilitation” process, stressing that only 30 patients are able to undergo dialysis.
The entire health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip was severely damaged as a result of the bombing and ground operations carried out by the Israeli army since the unprecedented attack launched by Hamas on Israel on October 7. This attack led to the killing of about 1,140 people, most of them civilians, in addition to the taking of 240 hostages, according to figures from the Israeli authorities.
Since then, the Israeli army has relentlessly bombed the Strip, killing 18,800 people, 75 percent of them children, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.
Israel accuses Hamas of using a number of hospitals, which have special protection status under the laws of war, to hide weapons and establish command centers underneath them.
The World Health Organization said it is ready to reinforce the Al-Shifa Complex “in the coming weeks” so that it can resume its basic services.
She explained, “Up to 20 operating rooms can be activated in the hospital, as well as post-operative care services, if it is provided with fuel, oxygen, medicines, food, and water,” noting at the same time the need for employees.
The National Arab Hospital is currently the only “partially operating” hospital in the entire northern Gaza Strip, with only three hospitals operating on a limited basis: Al-Shifa, Al-Awda, and Al-Sahaba. Before the war, there were 24 hospitals in this area.
Also, the World Health Organization expressed its concern about Kamal Adwan Hospital. The Hamas Ministry of Health reported on December 13 that the Israeli army opened fire on patient rooms in the besieged hospital.
2023-12-17 13:00:26
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