10/8/2024–|Last updated: 10/8/202411:04 AM (Mecca time)
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said yesterday, Monday, that the Israeli army targeted 65% of health institutions in the Strip, and deliberately deprived thousands of patients of receiving medical care over the course of a full year of aggression against Gaza.
This came in a statement issued by the Ministry and seen by Anatolia on the occasion of the full year since the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
The statement said, “Approximately 65% of health institutions (governmental, private, private, and the International Relief Agency) were targeted, and the rest are partially operating with an occupancy rate of 300%, especially intensive care departments and nurseries.”
He added that the Israeli army destroyed the infrastructure and sewage networks and prevented the introduction of detergents and sterilization materials, which led to the spread of epidemics and diseases, such as hepatitis, polio, and skin diseases.
He pointed out that the systematic and permanent targeting of the health sector deprived more than two million people in the Gaza Strip from receiving basic health services.
According to the statement, 12,000 cancer patients cannot receive basic treatments, not even painkillers, in addition to 50,000 pregnant women who are deprived of health services and maternity care.
He continued, “Hundreds of dialysis patients died as a result of the lack of health care available to them and the lack of dialysis services in many hospitals. Estimates indicate that many times more people who became martyrs have died as a result of the lack of medical services.”
Martyrs of the health sector
The statement explained that the number of martyrs in the health sector in Gaza reached 986, including 4 inside Israeli prisons.
He pointed out that more than 60% of the victims of the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza were children and women, noting that the number of martyrs reached 41,909 since October 7, 2023.
The statement called for an end to the aggression and the killing machine and to allow thousands of wounded to leave the Gaza Strip for specialized hospitals, to undergo complex surgical operations after their health condition worsened as a result of the punitive practices against them.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health called on all relevant authorities to find mechanisms to guarantee the access of medical supplies to all hospitals without restrictions, and to allow the entry of medical delegations, according to the same statement.