In the absence of assistance, physicians have grown concerned about the looming epidemic as hospitals become congested and dead accumulate on the streets.
After seven days of nonstop Israeli shelling, the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is fast becoming worse.
While medical institutions in the heavily populated region are overburdened with injured patients and citizens needing refuge, hospitals in the northern section of the besieged territory have received instructions to evacuate in anticipation of an impending ground attack.
Shifa Hospital, the main medical facility in Gaza City, is in extremely bad shape; Palestinian physicians there have issued warnings about impending infectious disease epidemics owing to overpopulation.
The hospital has received hundreds of individuals, if not thousands, according to surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta, who spoke to Al Jazeera on Saturday.”
“They are dozing on the floor, in hallways, or even between patients’ beds. They are afraid to death. The environment surrounding them supports their perception that it is the safest location, “added he.
Unless assistance comes, the hospital’s public health issue will continue.
Israelis are bombing Gaza in retaliation for the unprecedented attack by Hamas inside Israel last week. As a result, bodies are piling up and residents are terrified to bury the dead. According to health experts, the situation is so severe that ice cream trucks are now being utilized to store the dead since hospital morgues are already overflowing with the mounting death toll, which stood at more than 2,200 as of Saturday.
Israeli soldiers told Abu Sitta two hours to leave the al-Awda hospital in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, according to Abu Sitta.
I returned to Al-Shifa hospital after making sure the victims were in the ambulance. As we drove by the hospital in Indonesia, the morgue’s pile of dead was visible. There is no more room for them. The smell was really intense as we drove by the demolished structure.
He said that Shifa’s medical staff is only capable of doing life-saving operations. “The supply is depleted, and so is the staff.Many of them have died, have lost family members, or are attempting to protect their families.
When his sister was brought to their house, according to Abu Sitta, Medhat Saidam, a “beautiful man” he had worked with since the 2008–2009 conflict, was slain. He chose to stay with them overnight, and at 1 pm, he and his entire family were slaughtered, according to Abu Sitta. “
The surgeon said that several facilities, including the al-Durah pediatric hospital in eastern Gaza and the al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, were under “threat of closure” by the Israeli army.
People were also running out of bread and water, according to Mahmoud Shalabi, program manager for Medical Help in Gaza, a charity for Palestinians headquartered in the United Kingdom. “Right now, every store is closed.
If food could be found, then the banks have also failed, making it harder to get money. Shalabi stated, “I went to the ATM to get money, but the bank was destroyed because of the explosion. The single ATM is located in the heart of the Rimal neighborhood, which is distant from where I live.
“Terrible,” was how he characterized Friday night.
We were breathing deeply in the gunpowder because of the air attacks and widespread artillery bombardment, according to Shalabi.
People with wounds, burns, and other injuries do not have access to painkillers in hospitals to lessen their misery. Shalabi reported that the nurses “stop the bleeding and tell you to wait for your turn.”
Gaza, a region with a population of more than 2.3 million, has been subject to a land, sea, and air siege since 2007. Israel declared earlier this week that it was enforcing a “complete blockade” on the region in reaction to the October 7 strike by Hamas, which also resulted in further casualties. More than 1,300 people, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, the Israeli military has begun its most intensive bombing assault on the coastal region controlled by Hamas, dropping about 6,000 bombs in only six days and shutting off supply routes for food, gasoline, medication, and other necessities.
The World Health Organization emphasized that supplies to Gaza “must go” as time ran out.
Hospitals are overflowing, patients aren’t receiving care, burned children aren’t receiving pain medication – it’s urgent, said spokesperson Margaret Harris to Al Jazeera.
Egypt decided to open the border for humanitarian goods after meeting with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the UN health agency.
The organization is prepared to deliver foreign help to the Gaza Strip, averting several preventable fatalities, but has been unable to do so up to this point since Israel has not granted authorization.
It’s quite disheartening, said Harris. The lack of a desire to open that border is what is apparent.
In the meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry denounced the “direct and organized attack on ambulances.”
Shalabi said that these vehicles are often targeted in ways that violate international law.
It’s incredibly risky, as I observed individuals carrying dead in their cars this morning since ambulances are being attacked.
It is better to die than be wounded now since your rehabilitation will be put off.
Death is more forgiving.
