The International Committee of the Red Cross and its partners will open a field hospital in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday in an attempt to meet what it described as a “tremendous” demand for health services since the start of the Israeli military operation in Rafah last week.
Some clinics closed their activities, while patients and paramedics fled from Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital at a time when the Israeli occupation army intensified its bombing operations on the southern part of the Strip. There are hundreds of thousands of displaced people from other areas.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said: “People in Gaza are struggling to get the medical care they urgently need, partly due to the huge demand for medical services and the reduced number of functioning medical facilities… Doctors and nurses are working around the clock, but the demand has exceeded the limit of their capabilities.” .
The International Committee stated that workers in the new facility will be able to treat about 200 people daily and can provide emergency surgical services and deal with receiving a number of casualties, in addition to providing pediatric and other services.
The committee said: “The medical staff is facing cases of people with serious injuries and an increase in infectious diseases that could lead to a potential outbreak and complications associated with chronic diseases for which treatment has been delayed.”
The ICRC will provide medical supplies to the facility, while Red Cross Societies from 11 countries – including Canada, Germany, Norway and Japan – will provide kits and equipment.
The Israeli war on Gaza, which has been ongoing since October 7, 2023, has left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, and massive destruction, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”
Israel continues the war despite the issuance of a resolution by the UN Security Council to stop the fighting immediately, and also despite the International Court of Justice demanding immediate measures to prevent acts of “genocide” and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.