GAZA: Physicians in the war-torn Gaza Tuesday reported that alongside the war-wounded hundreds of patients are pouring into hospitals with symptoms of illnesses resulting from severe overcrowding and inadequate sanitation conditions in the shelters amid the heaviest-ever Israeli bombing. This situation has arisen as a consequence of over 1.4 million individuals seeking refuge in tem-porary shelters due to the most intense bombardment ever witnessed in Israel.
Numerous humanitarian organisations have consistently raised concerns about a looming public health crisis in this densely populated Palestinian region.
Israel has told everybody living in the northern half of the 45km-long (28 mile) Gaza Strip to move south but its strikes have flattened districts throughout the enclave.
With all hospitals running out of fuel to power their generators, doctors have warned that critical equipment, like incubators for newborns, risk stopping.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry said 40 medical centres had suspended operations at a time when the bombardment and displacement are putting increased stress on the system.
It remains under an Israeli blockade that has led to a scarcity of electricity, potable water, and fuel, with only limited UN-supplied food and medical aid entering the area.
“The crowding of civilians and the fact that most schools used as shelters are housing lots of peo-ple, it’s a prime breeding ground for disease to spread,” said Nahed Abu Taaema, a public health doctor at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.
Despite the release of elderly hostages by Hamas on Monday night, the Gaza health ministry offi-cials reported on Tuesday that at least 704 people were martyred in Israeli strikes in the besieged territory in the last 24 hours, with more than 140 lives lost overnight, as relentless bombing con-tinued in Rafah and Khan Younis areas.
Palestinian death toll from Israel’s attacks on Gaza has surpassed 5,791, including 2,360 children and 1,292 women, while 16,297 others were injured, according to the Health Ministry.
According to Al Jazeera’s Hani Abu Isheba, “This has put hospitals here on the brink of collapse. Hospitals here have never seen this level of injuries before.”
More than 60% of Gaza residents needed food aid even before the latest Israeli bombing cam-paign started on October 7 in the wake of deadly Hamas attacks inside Israel. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that a third of Gaza hospitals were not operating. “We are on our knees asking for that sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operation,” said WHO regional emergencies head Rick Brennan.
The private Indonesian Hospital, the biggest in north Gaza, said on Tuesday it had switched off everything except the last vital departments such as the Intensive Care Unit.
The only other hospital that had still been serving patients in northern Gaza, Beit Hanoun Hospi-tal, stopped operations because of the intense bombardment of the town, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
“If the hospital doesn’t get fuel, this is going to be a death sentence against the patients in north-ern Gaza,” said Atef al-Kahlout, the hospital’s director. –Agencies
