Vulnerable Patients: Israeli Raid On Gaza Hospital Raise Concerns

The Israeli military says its special forces are still inside the Nasser hospital in Gaza as an operation against Hamas at the site continues.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said fuel was needed urgently at the facility to “ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving services”.

Gaza Health Ministry reported on Friday that five people had died at the hospital, which is in the city of Khan Younis, after the electricity generators went down and oxygen could not be provided.

Nasser, which is the main hospital in Southern Gaza, is one of the few still functioning and has been the scene of intense fighting between the IDF and Hamas for days.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) ordered thousands of displaced people who had been sheltering there to leave.

A WHO Spokesperson, Tarik Jasarevic  said there were now reports that the orthopaedic unit had been damaged.

“That obviously reduces the ability to provide the urgent medical care,” he said, adding that there were still “critically injured and sick patients” at the hospital.

“More degradation to the hospital means more lives being lost.”

Nasser hospital’s director, Nahed Abu-Teima, said the situation inside was “catastrophic and very dangerous”.

Verified images showed medical staff rushing patients on stretchers through a corridor filled with smoke or dust.

“Nasser Hospital, since they besieged it, there is no water or food,” an injured man who was displaced from the hospital, Raed Abed, told the Associated Press.

“Garbage is widespread, and sewage has flooded the emergency department.”

BBC