With the ceasefire agreement coming into effect on Friday 10 October, many of the humanitarian and health disasters left behind in Gaza by Israeli military operations during the two-year war have been revealed.

Israel has decimated Gaza’s health system

In the first real description of the health sector in Gaza, the Director General of Hospitals, Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, revealed the catastrophic health situation that prevails in the sector, where hospitals are operating at over 250% capacity, while thousands of patients are crowded into their wards.

In statements to journalists, Zaqout pointed out that more than 60% of essential medicines have run out and laboratory supplies are 70% depleted as a result of the occupation’s targeting of hospitals and health care centres, especially during the recent aggression on Gaza City.

The only specialised children’s hospital has seen vital departments such as the nursery, intensive care and oxygen station destroyed, while major hospitals in the north and south of the Strip, including the Indonesian Hospital and the European Gaza Hospital, are out of service, leaving thousands of patients without a medical facility capable of providing the necessary care.

He added that the need for treatment is urgent, especially for cancer, heart and kidney patients, pregnant women and newborns, stressing that medical staff are working in tragic conditions after losing many of their colleagues and children during the war.

Multiple killings

Zaqout explained that 1,701 medical personnel were killed during the war, including 320 consultants and specialists, in addition to nurses and administrators, leaving a huge gap in the health system’s ability to provide services.

He noted that international organisations have been trying to bring in medical supplies for months, but the warehouses remain empty and the supplies have not yet reached the hospitals.

Zaqout concluded by emphasising that the health situation in Gaza is on the verge of complete collapse, calling for the urgent entry of medical delegations and the acceleration of the transfer of patients for treatment outside the Strip, warning that any further delay means the risk of thousands more dying without treatment.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alaa Shamali

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