The WHO complains about the overload of hospitals in the south of the Gaza Strip and warns that the situation is worsening
The World Health Organization (WHO) denounced the difficult situation of hospitals in the south of the Gaza Strip in a long statement this Wednesday, after its teams visited the hospitals of Al-Shifa in the north and Al-Shifa yesterday. Amal, in the south. This last center is dependent on the Palestinian Red Crescent.
In Al-Amal, the WHO confirmed that the hospital's radio tower was out of order due to the Israeli attacks, the Red Crescent reported yesterday. Due to the irregular operation of the communication system in the Strip, this equipment is essential for contacting ambulances. The UN agency also said that only five of the center's nine ambulances were operational, in an area that is home to more than one and a half million people, between residents and refugees.
“Our staff have reported that it is impossible to walk through the hospital without stepping on patients and those seeking refuge in the center,” the WHO statement said. “There are only a few toilets left in the hospital and the adjacent buildings for refugees, patients and staff.” According to the WHO, 14,000 people are seeking refuge in Al-Amal, and in Al-Shifa there are even 50,000.
The organization warned that the situation would get worse. “Our staff witnessed tens of thousands of people fleeing the heavy bombardment of the central Gaza Strip area and Khan Younis on foot, by car and by donkey, seeking refuge in makeshift roadside shelters,” he said. the hint. “WHO is extremely concerned that this new movement of people will place even greater pressure on already depleted health facilities in the south,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the organization’s representative in Gaza and the West Bank. “This shift will lead to more crowding and a higher risk of infectious diseases, making the delivery of help even more difficult.”
Particularly worrying is the situation at the Nasser Medical Complex, the main hospital in Khan Younis and southern Gaza, which has received warnings from Israeli forces calling for the area surrounding the center to be evacuated. “It’s a scenario we’ve seen too many times in the north [de la Franja]“explained Peeperkorn. “As military activity intensifies, ambulances, patients, personnel, and WHO and its partners will not be able to arrive. This important hospital would no longer be functional. Gaza cannot afford to lose any more hospitals.”