Operations at Gaza's Al Amal hospital's surgical ward halted: PRCS

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jan 2024 21:31
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The Palestinian Red Crescent said in a statement that attacks in the hospital's vicinity have persisted for the eighth consecutive day.

Palestinians search for the bodies after an Israeli strike in Zuweida, Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Monday reported that the surgical ward at Al Amal Hospital in the Gaza Strip has ceased operations due to a depletion of oxygen supplies.

"The surgical ward at Al-Amal Hospital has completely ceased operations due to the depletion of oxygen supplies," the PRCS said in a statement on X.

The organization stated that attacks in the vicinity of the hospital have persisted for the eighth consecutive day.

🚨Urgent: PRCS (as of 14:00 today):
📌The surgical ward at Al-Amal Hospital has completely ceased operations due to the depletion of oxygen supplies.
📌The Israeli occupation continues to target and besiege the hospital for the eighth consecutive day, amid ongoing shelling and… pic.twitter.com/uXzOy1oaip
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 29, 2024

Meanwhile, doctors are currently addressing three martyrs and four injuries among displaced individuals, as per the statement.

Two of the martyrdoms occurred while they were evacuating the body of a deceased woman from the area near the hospital, as highlighted by the PRCS.

This comes against the backdrop of increased pressure after Western donors decided to cut funding for the UNRWA aid organization under allegations of collaboration with the resistance.

UNRWA funds suspended

The United States and Canada were the first to lead the move, and Finland, Australia, Britain, and Italy followed suit on Saturday.

Despite the fact there are no evidence to support such claims, France, Japan, and Estonia also followed suit.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denied all accusations in a post on X, stating: "Such false claims are harmful and can endanger our staff who are risking their lives to serve the vulnerable."

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine Francesca Albanese wrote in a post on X that the suspension of UNRWA funding came the day after the ICJ's decision concluding that "Israel" is plausibly committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Albanese stated that the countries that suspended their funding for the UN agency "collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention."

Turkey, Iran stand by Gaza and UNRWA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday expressed concern about the decisions made by donors to suspend funding.

"Working under very difficult conditions, UNRWA meets the vital needs of millions of Palestine refugees ... The suspension of funding to UNRWA, following allegations against a few UNRWA staff, will primarily harm the Palestinian people," it said in a statement.

Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani likewise condemned Israeli accusations leveled against UNRWA staffers, stating that these charges were part of a broader scheme of Zionist efforts aimed at stifling NGO activities in the Gaza Strip.

He further said that the accusations are intended to absolve the regime from the killing of more than 150 NGO employees.

The decision to suspend UNRWA's funding by the countries is deemed regrettable, Kanaani said, while also viewing it as an endorsement of Zionist war crimes that have been substantiated at the ICJ with charges of genocide.