The UN warned on Wednesday that hospitals in Khan Younis are at risk of closure due to the continuous Israeli attacks.
Qatar sent a field hospital and medical equipment for Gaza on Wednesday to support Palestinians living under the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip that has forced the local health sector to collapse.
The flight landed in Egypt’s El Arish, where aid is being collected before crossing into Gaza through the Rafah Crossing. The aid Qatar sent brought up the total of such aircraft 74, carrying 2,186 tonnes of aid, the Gulf state’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The assistance comes within the framework of the State of Qatar’s support for the brotherly Palestinian people during the current difficult humanitarian conditions,” the statement added.
The vital aid comes as Gaza’s health sector struggles to treat Palestinians on the ground under the ongoing Israeli attacks and complete blockade on the Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 26,900 people and wounded more than 65,949 others. Israel’s genocidal war has also displaced more than 1.9 million people out of the total 2.2 million population.
Gaza now has only 14 of 36 partially functional hospitals, down from 16 at the start of January, according to the United Nations.
Hospitals have been among Israel’s primary targets since the start of the war and repeatedly alleged that Hamas fighters have been using the facilities as command centres.
Numerous rights agencies debunked Israel’s allegations, including Amnesty International.
Israeli occupation forces raided the Al-Shifa hospital on October 12, 2023, where tens of thousands of Palestinians were sheltering at the start of the war. It then targeted other hospitals and medical facilities across Gaza, more recently the Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal Hospital in the south.
Israel has besieged both facilities for 10 consecutive days, preventing hundreds of doctors, patients and displaced Palestinians from evacuating the sites, placing them under a constant state of terror and panic.
Israeli forces shot and killed a security employee at Al Amal Hospital on Wednesday while he was standing near the facility’s back door.
On the same day, Israeli forces stormed the Al-Shifa maternity ward and executed a number of citizens.
Since the start of the war, Israel has targeted 223 health facilities, killed at least 305 healthcare professionals and injured 370 others, according to Euro-Med Human Rights.
The UN warned on Wednesday that hospitals in Khan Younis are at risk of closure due to the continuous Israeli attacks.
Gaza’s health ministry added that hospitals’ occupancy rates are reaching 206% across their inpatient departments, whereas the rate is hitting 250% in intensive care units.
Gaza’s situation has placed 50,000 pregnant women at high risk due to the lack of sufficient medical equipment and services to assist them throughout their pregnancies and delivery. More than 20,000 babies have also been born since the beginning of the war.
Miscarriages also increased by 300% during the same period.
