'Catastrophic' situation at Nasser complex after Israeli raids
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Hundreds of doctors and patients remain inside the Nasser Medical complex in Khan Younis, after the IOF reportedly entered the premises opening fire in its medical departments and urging the injured to evacuate.
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People inspect the damage following an Israeli bombardment of Nasser Hospital in the main southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on December 17, 2023 (AFP)
The Gaza health ministry reported that patients and medics were enduring "dire and frightening conditions" at a major hospital raided by Israeli occupation forces(IOF) on Thursday.
Hundreds of doctors and patients remain inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, after the IOF reportedly entered the premises opening fire in its medical departments and urging the injured to evacuate.
The ministry reported that the complex was seeing a "catastrophic and alarming situation" from a lack of medical resources.
A nurse at the hospital told AFP earlier that Israeli snipers had killed many people, tanks had opened fire on the compound, and individuals had been forced to leave at gunpoint.
Doctors Without Borders reported a "chaotic situation" in the hospital after it was bombarded early Thursday, killing and injuring many people.
MSF posted on X that the medical staff had been forced to flee and leave patients behind.
🔴 Gaza update:
— MSF International (@MSF) February 15, 2024
Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, was shelled in the early hours of this morning, despite Israeli Forces having told medical staff and patients they could remain in the facility.
Thousands of displaced people were ordered to evacuate it on 13 February...🧵
The IOF as usual, claimed without publishing evidence that there may be Israeli captives in the complex.
Social media footage showed rescuers attempting to transport patients from the hospital's orthopedic unit after it was struck. Rescuers were seen hauling a patient on a bed, and others carried another patient on a blanket among falling rubble.
Gaza's health ministry released a video showing patients overcrowded in a corridor.
#بالفيديو | لحظة قصف الاحتلال لقسم العظام في #مجمع_ناصر_الطبي في #خان_يونس. #طوفان_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/TvQZVO7QW9
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) February 15, 2024
Moreover, the ministry reported an incident of damage to an oxygen tube in the Nasser Complex, leading to oxygen leakage.
The ministry added that the mentioned leakage resulted in a decrease in oxygen pressure in the medical complex, especially in the intensive care unit, endangering patients due to the Israeli targeting of the complex.
'Without food, milk, or water'
According to the ministry, over 460 individuals were forced to relocate to an old hospital facility where they were "without food, without milk for children, and with a severe shortage of water". IOF have conducted ruthless raids and strikes on hospitals, under the guise that they were targeting Hamas headquarters.
The World Health Organization has identified Nasser Hospital as a key institution "for all of Gaza," since only a small number of facilities are even partially operating.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed alarm at the reports of what was taking place in the complex, which he characterized as the "backbone of the health system in southern Gaza".
Tedros stated on X that the agency has recently been denied access to the site and has lost communication with its workforce.
Civilians killed, orders to evacuate people seeking shelter, the northern wall demolished: I am alarmed by what is reportedly happening at Nasser Medical Complex in #Gaza after being under siege for around a week.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) February 14, 2024
Hostilities have reportedly destroyed storage facilities for…
The Nasser Medical Complex has been under a strict Israeli blockade. It has faced repeated attacks since the beginning of February, as part of the Israeli occupation's attempt to disable it, as part of its systematic targeting of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.
