The second largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in the southern city of Khan Younis, serves many patients and other Palestinians.
Ground and air attacks by Israeli forces have now rendered Gaza’s second largest hospital non-operational.
The besieged enclave’s health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, was no longer functioning after a week-long siege that intensified this week, followed by deadly raids.
“There are currently only four medical staff caring for patients” inside the hospital, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Reuters news agency on Sunday.
In an article on critical patient status and medical needs, even though she had arrived at the hospital with partners to deliver fuel.
“There are still around 200 patients in the hospital. At least 20 people must be urgently referred to other hospitals to receive health care; Medical referral is a right of every patient,” he said, adding that “the cost of delays will be paid by the lives of patients.”
Nasser Hospital in #Gaza is no longer functional, after a week-long siege followed by the current raid.
Yesterday and the day before yesterday, the @WHO The team was not allowed to enter the hospital to assess patients’ conditions and critical medical needs, despite…
– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 18, 2024
In recent days, Israeli soldiers have attacked the hospital, where displaced Palestinians are also sheltering. The Health Ministry said Saturday that Israeli forces “arrested a large number of directors and staff” at the hospital while treating the wounded.
On Friday, the ministry said a United Nations-led humanitarian convoy was held up for seven hours and prevented from reaching the hospital.
Meanwhile, al-Amal Hospital, the only other major medical facility still operational in Khan Younis, continues to be the target of Israeli attacks. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Sunday that Israeli forces targeted the third floor of the hospital with artillery fire.
The Israeli army expanded its siege on Khan Younis and its medical facilities while pushing further south to Rafah, on the border with Egypt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has remained adamant about an imminent ground attack on Rafah, where more than 1.4 million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge, creating a humanitarian crisis.
“During the nighttime (air) attacks on Rafah, we saw the horror of displaced Palestinians trying to find shelter in the city where they were ordered to evacuate and told it would be a “zone of “only to find themselves targeted and killed inside their homes,” Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud said on Sunday, reporting from Rafah.
“Added to this is the lack of medical staff and medical supplies, which literally leaves people lying on hospital floors for hours, waiting for help. Israel has imposed restrictions on the delivery of aid, worsening the shortage. »
The UN, along with the United States and other Israel allies, have said they would not accept an invasion of Rafah, but have not discussed what they would do if Israel pursues its approach of “total victory”.
