Gaza’s health system at a “point of no return” under Israeli bombings and other attacks

First modification: 11/11/2023 – 00:19

4 min

The health situation in the Gaza Strip continues to worsen as a result of Israel’s offensive in Palestinian territory. This Friday, November 10, the Al Shifa hospital, one of the main hospitals in the north of the enclave, was bombed, causing the death of at least 20 people.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry noted that Israel has “the clear intention of committing a massacre” by attacking the Al Shifa complex, which houses a large number of patients and around 60,000 displaced people.

Justifying that there would be a presence of Hamas fighters in health entities, a version that was not verified by international authorities and that the group rejects, Israel attacked in recent weeks against the Gazan health system, which is suffering from a deepening crisis.

In fact, Israel claims that the Hamas group’s main military and command center is located in the basement of this hospital and accuses the group of using the civilian population as “human shields.”

Without electricity, reduced supplies and operating at minimum levels, the different health institutions are under the eye of the Israeli Army. For example, fences have been deployed around the Al Rantisi Pediatric Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital was also attacked.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that clashes were taking place in the area near Al Quds Hospital, where at least one of the displaced people taking refuge in the facility died. In total, the attacks on hospitals in Gaza and a school left 27 dead on the day.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Ministry of Health stated that the Indonesian Hospital no longer has essential services and is cut off.

Serious patients, in need of urgent transfer

Meanwhile, critically ill patients who need urgent care are transferred to other countries. This Friday, the World Health Organization reported that a dozen children with cancer and blood disorders were taken to Egypt and Jordan to continue their treatments safely.

The WHO, which highlighted this fact as an example to “put health and peace first”, stressed that it is essential that other injured and seriously ill patients be evacuated to surrounding countries in a “safe and unimpeded” manner.

In a context where more than 11,000 people have been murdered in the Gaza Strip – according to figures from the local Ministry of Health – the latest advances in health institutions provoked the reaction of humanitarian workers, warning of the violation of International Humanitarian Law.

The International Committee of the Red Crescent affirmed on the day that the situation of the health system in Gaza is reaching “a point of no return” amid the attacks on hospitals and ambulances and denounced that it is “putting itself at risk.” the lives of thousands of wounded, sick and displaced people.

A spokesman for the Red Crescent in Gaza said that many hospitals cannot operate due to shortages of fuel, water, electricity and “continued interruptions in communications and the Internet for the third consecutive day.” Some 18 of the 35 hospital centers are currently out of service.

For his part, Martin Griffits – humanitarian chief of the United Nations – urged that the attacks “against sensitive places” stop immediately. “Under international humanitarian law, hospitals must be protected,” he added through the social network X.

Qatar, which has added great diplomatic influence in recent days after intervening for the release of American hostages, asked the international community to intervene immediately to stop Israel.

While the United States, one of Israel’s main allies and which has frequently defended Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, also warned that the killing of Palestinians in the enclave is excessive. During a visit to India, Antony Blinken – Secretary of State of the North American country – assured that “too many Palestinians have died; “Too many have suffered in recent weeks.”

So far, the United States has limited itself to calling for “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict, a measure that allows attacks to be temporarily stopped, to allow evacuations and the entry of humanitarian aid to the enclave, but has repeatedly refused to call for a halt. to fire, which would lead to a cessation of hostilities in the medium or long term.

The escalation of the conflict has also forced the displacement of more than two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million citizens and has claimed the lives of approximately one hundred members of the UN humanitarian corps.

With EFE and Reuters