The Israeli war and complete blockade of the enclave have left Gaza with only 12 partially functioning hospitals out of 36.

Qatar and Turkey reunited wounded Palestinians from Gaza with their relatives in Doha on Wednesday, providing them with the ability to continue their medical treatment in the Gulf state.

“A number of the wounded were receiving treatment in Turkiye, while their relatives were undergoing treatment in Qatar,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement, without disclosing the number of the Gazans.

Those already in Qatar have been evacuated from Gaza under an initiative by Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to treat 1,500 Palestinians from the Strip. As of Tuesday, Qatar evacuated the 19th batch of wounded Palestinians, though it remains unclear how many have been evacuated.

By the end of 2023, Turkey received 292 wounded and sick from Gaza for treatment. Last November, Turkey and Egypt agreed to treat 1,000 cancer patients and other injured civilians.

In a statement to Qatar News Agency, Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah Al Khater expressed her appreciation for Turkey’s support to reunite the families.

The evacuations of Palestinians come as Gaza’s local health sector struggles to treat tens of thousands of wounded amid an absence of medical supplies and basic resources.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed at least 31,923 Palestinians while wounding at least 74,096 others.

The Israeli war and complete blockade have left Gaza with only 12 partially functioning hospitals out of 36, according to the United Nations. Health facilities have been among Israel’s main targets since the beginning of the genocidal war, carrying out deadly raids at the medical buildings while attacking doctors.

Israel raided the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the largest in Gaza, once again on Monday morning, attacking hundreds of medics, as well as wounded and displaced Palestinians. Israeli forces have been shooting anyone who moves inside Al-Shifa or gets close to the windows. 

On Wednesday, the Israeli army said it “eliminated” 90 people at the medical complex, interrogating “300 suspects” and detaining more than 160. Israel has long described Palestinians as “terrorists” throughout its attempts to justify the killings of civilians.

Hamas on Tuesday condemned the raid on the hospital, saying that Israel killed civilians, patients and displaced people.

However, occupation forces continued to surround the hospital, trapping those who were unable to flee the building under non-stop gunfire.

Israel had ordered approximately 1.1 million people to evacuate northern Gaza to the south on 12 October 2023 at the time it first raided the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

The occupation forces then kidnapped Al-Shifa Hospital’s director Muhammad Abu Salmiya, on November 23 and his whereabouts remain unknown.

During the early days of the war on Gaza, Al-Shifa was the main shelter for thousands of Palestinians and where the press was mainly reporting from. 

The hospital is also the location where officials in Gaza held press conferences while being surrounded by bloody body bags of people killed by Israel.

Al Shifa is one of the six partially functioning facilities in northern Gaza, where aid has been cut off by Israel, contributing to the dire humanitarian crisis. 

At least 31 people, including 27 children, in Gaza have died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration, according to the local health ministry. 

A total of 1.1 million people, or 50 percent of Gaza’s population, are projected to face catastrophic levels of hunger, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

More than 200,000 people in Gaza “are imminently at risk of famine” between mid-March and May due to the extreme shortage of food, the IPC added.

Meanwhile, truckloads of aid have been stacking up in neighbouring Egypt awaiting to cross into Gaza through the shared Rafah Crossing. 

Israel’s heavy control over the borders’ policies hindered the entry of aid, with the occupying entity coming under fire globally for weaponising starvation. At least 300 daily food trucks are required to enter Gaza.