The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a distressing report on Thursday, Dec. 21, revealing a dire healthcare crisis in northern Gaza, where a functional hospital no longer exists due to critical shortages of fuel, staff and essential supplies.
The WHO described scenes at the hospitals as "unbearable," with largely abandoned patients pleading for food and water. (Related: Jordan airdrops urgent medical supplies to field hospital in Gaza Strip.)
Out of the 36 health facilities in Gaza, only nine are partially operational, and these are concentrated in the southern part of the enclave.
Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in Gaza, painted a grim picture of the situation during a video link from Jerusalem. "There are actually no functional hospitals left in the north," he said. Al-Ahli Hospital, which was the last operational facility, is now minimally operational, attending to existing patients while refusing new admissions.
Peeperkorn depicted it as a mere "shell of a hospital," akin to a hospice, providing extremely limited care with scant resources. Only about 10 staff, all junior doctors and nurses, continue to provide basic first aid, pain management and wound care with scant resources, he said.
"Until two days ago, it was the only hospital where injured people could get surgery in northern Gaza and that was overwhelmed with patients needing emergency care," Peeperkorn said. "There are no operating theaters anymore due to the lack of fuel, power, medical supplies and health workers, including surgeons and other specialists."
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Al-Ahli Hospital, once a lifeline for surgeries in northern Gaza, is now overwhelmed. Its courtyard serves as a somber scene, lined with the bodies of victims from recent Israeli attacks, awaiting dignified burials.
In addition to Al-Ahli Hospital, only three other health facilities in northern Gaza – Al-Shifa, Al Awda and Al Sahaba hospitals – are minimally functional, offering shelter to thousands of displaced people.
Patients at risk due to shortage of antibiotics and essential drugs
Patients at Al-Ahli Hospital are facing prolonged waits for surgeries, exposing them to the risk of post-operation infections due to the shortage of antibiotics and essential drugs.
Peeperkorn emphasized the urgency of transferring these immobile patients to other facilities for a chance at survival. "All these patients cannot move and need to be transferred urgently to have a chance to survive," he said reiterating the WHO's call for a humanitarian ceasefire.
"This is needed now to reinforce and restock remaining health facilities, deliver medical services needed by thousands of injured people and those needing other essential care, and, above all, to stop the bloodshed and death."
The WHO reiterated its call for a humanitarian ceasefire, stressing the immediate need to reinforce and restock the remaining health facilities; deliver medical services to the injured; and, most importantly, halt the ongoing bloodshed and loss of life in this beleaguered region.
The situation calls for swift international intervention to address the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
These alarming developments come amid diplomatic efforts to secure a pause in the war that has already claimed more than 20,000 Palestinian lives, with 70 percent of the casualties being women and children.
The UN Security Council, facing a potential U.S. veto, postponed a crucial vote on a draft resolution to enhance humanitarian aid for Gaza. The council is expected to vote on a ceasefire and aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, reflecting the urgency of the humanitarian crisis.
Watch Israeli artillery claim one life and hurt several people at Mubarak Hospital.
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