Gaza Hospitals in Peril As Health System Breaks Down
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Amidst the relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza, hospitals in the beleaguered strip are teetering on the brink of collapse as the health system faces an unprecedented breakdown.
The escalating crisis, marked by fuel shortages, power outages, and continuous bombardment, is pushing Gaza's medical facilities to the edge, leaving patients, including children and the wounded, in perilous conditions.
The dire situation in Gaza's health system continues to escalate as Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) declares al-Quds Hospital non-operational due to fuel shortages and power outages.
Holding the international community accountable, PRCS declared that al-Quds Hospital is now non-operational due to a severe lack of fuel and a power outage.
In another devastating blow, an Israeli air attack demolished the cardiac ward of Gaza's largest hospital, al-Shifa, amid ongoing fighting. The two-storey building is obliterated, leaving the Intensive Care Unit badly damaged for the second time. Al-Shifa staff reports continuous bombardment for over 24 hours, leading to the evacuation of most personnel and sheltering individuals, while 500 patients remain.
Compounding the chaos, al-Ahli Arab Hospital faces a critical shortage of blood, with wounded patients at risk of dying post-surgery due to the inability to transfuse blood. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) reports receiving young Palestinians at Jenin Hospital in the West Bank with life-threatening bullet wounds, emphasizing severe abdominal and lower thigh injuries.
The catastrophic situation extends in al-Shifa Hospital, where the lives of approximately 650 patients, including 36 children, are at risk. Director General of Hospitals in Gaza, Muhammad Zaqout, urgently calls on Egypt to intervene. Al-Shifa Medical Complex houses around 1,500 displaced people, facing threats from garbage accumulation, medical waste, water shortages, and power outages.
Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila accused Israeli forces of forcibly evicting wounded and patients from hospitals onto the streets, leaving them to face inevitable death.
UNICEF spokesperson Toby Fricker described the tragic situation inside Gaza's hospitals, noting the struggle of premature babies in al-Shifa Hospital due to electricity and water shortages.
The toll of the ongoing crisis is staggering, with over 11,100 Palestinians, including more than 8,000 children and women, having lost their lives in Israeli attacks since October 7. The targeting of hospitals and prevention of entry further hampers accurate reporting, raising concerns about the true extent of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.