Gaza’s health sector has completely collapsed due to Israel’s bombardment and complete siege of the Strip.
Qatar evacuated a fifth batch of wounded Palestinians from Gaza to Doha on Monday under an initiative by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to treat 1,500 Palestinians from the besieged enclave.
The Gulf state’s foreign ministry announced the latest evacuation in a statement, which did not specify the number of evacuees or the name of the hospital they are receiving treatment at.
“This initiative comes within the framework of Qatar’s constant support for the fraternal Palestinian people, especially during the difficult humanitarian situation they currently face,” the statement said.
On December 3, Qatar’s amir launched an initiative to sponsor 3,000 orphans and treat 1,500 injured Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Under the initiative, the Gulf State is supervising the transfer of the wounded in coordination with Egypt, in preparation for treatment in Doha.
The initiative was launched against the backdrop of Qatar’s other humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
As of Sunday, Qatar has deployed 50 flights carrying a total of 1,548 tonnes of food, medical and hygiene supplies for Gaza, according to the latest figures from Doha’s foreign ministry.
On December 13, Qatar pledged $50 million at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva as an initial humanitarian aid package for Gaza.
On December 18, Sheikh Tamim donated QAR 100 million (around $27.5 million) to back the local “Palestine Duty” charity campaign. The campaign gathered a total of QAR 200,048,750 (around $55 million) in donations for Gaza.
Israel began its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 under the pretext of eliminating Hamas. The majority of those killed by Israel in Gaza are civilians, according to Palestinian health authorities.
For nearly three months, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza while occupation forces have carried out field executions of Palestinians, including the elderly and children.
Israel has killed at least 20,674 Palestinians while wounding 54,536 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Euro-Med believes Israel has killed 28,091 – a figure that includes those believed to be still under the rubble.
Israel’s war on Gaza has displaced 1.9 million people, representing around 90% of Gaza’s entire population of 2.2 million.
Gaza’s health sector has completely collapsed due to the Israeli bombardment and complete blockade on the Strip, cutting off the Palestinian enclave from vital food, fuel and medical resources.
On December 22, only 69 aid trucks crossed over into Gaza through the Rafah crossing and 23 others entered through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The number of trucks is significantly lower than the pre-war daily average of 500 truckloads, which included fuel and vital private sector goods.
