Gaza health sector collapsing in hours: Health official to Al Mayadeen
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The spokesperson of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says to Al Mayadeen that the health sector in Gaza is collapsing as medicines run out amid power outages.
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Palestinian children wounded in Israeli strikes are brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, occupied Palestine, on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 (AP)
Gaza is only a few hours away from essential services completely shutting down, and the health sector is in collapse, Palestinian health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra told Al Mayadeen on Thursday.
"Medicines are dwindling and have almost run out," Al-Qudra said, noting that only life-saving units were operating in Gaza's hospitals due to the existing fuel shortages.
"The patients and wounded in Gaza's hospitals are laying on the floor as there are no beds in the ICU units, with patients piling up in front of the operation rooms," the health official added.
"Entire families from #Gaza have been wiped off the Palestinian civil registry! Entire residential areas and neighborhoods have been wiped out, with families still under the rubble!"
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 12, 2023
- Gaza's Health Ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra, to #AlMayadeen. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/jITqxPtagV
According to Al-Qudra, Gaza is experiencing a complete wipeout of its residential areas, with whole families being taken out of the Palestinian civil registry. The health official further noted that there are complete families under the rubble in Gaza.
He also reported that as per the Health Ministry's latest toll, there have been 1,426 martyrs, including 447 children, since the beginning of the Israeli occupation's aggression on Gaza.
It is likely that the number of martyrs and wounded will continue to rise, with many people trapped under the rubble, while the humanitarian conditions are extremely difficult amid great pressure facing hospitals, which are at threat of going out of service when they run out of fuel soon.
Thousands of casualties
This is happening as the Israeli occupation continues to bombard residential areas and hospitals, as well as vital infrastructure in the Gaza Strip amid a stifling blockade that is putting at risk numerous vital resources, such as fuel, food, and medicine, with the health sector being seriously jeopardized by the stifling siege.
Information revealed to Al Mayadeen indicates that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is being exacerbated by the hour, with 330,000 people, 15% of Gaza's population, being displaced since the start of the aggression. This figure does not include the families moving between their families' homes, meaning this figure could be as high as 33%.
The Palestinian people, according to information obtained by Al Mayadeen, do not feel safe in UNRWA schools where they usually take shelter.
The displacement is taking place amid a stark water crisis that might cause disasters and epidemics, as well as facilitate the spread of disease.
Paramount damages
The Israeli occupation forces announced that its air force destroyed more than 22,639 homes, 10 health institutions, 48 schools, and dozens of mosques, which far exceeds all previous damages done throughout previous rounds of aggression on Gaza with a highly short time margin.
The Israeli occupation forces are gradually working to bomb government and partisan buildings, with even the homes of military personnel, politicians, and lower-ranking soldiers being targeted.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said there is a severe shortage of 44% of medicines, 32% of medical supplies, and 60% of laboratory and blood bank supplies, as well as the collapse of power generators amid a stark fuel crisis and a collapse in the Palestinian ambulance and emergency response systems.
As of the sixth day of aggression on Gaza, an average of 200 people are martyred per day, with 900 injured in the same time span, with the number of martyrs likely to rise at any moment as the health authorities continue to find more martyrs as they go into more neighborhoods and buildings.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza announced earlier in the day that the number of martyrs rose to 1,354 and the number of wounded rose to 6,049.
Patients may lose their lives
The cutting of electricity would also lead to the discontinuation of life-saving procedures, such as heart catheters, C-sections, and surgical interventions, not to mention 58 laboratories and blood banks being forced to shut down amid the critical need for them.
1100 renal failure patients could also lose their lives as a result, including 38 children.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has already put in place measures to save fuel, including shutting off power from local generators for a few hours and directing electricity toward the more essential wards.
