Last functional hospital in Gaza under attack as medical personnel toll hits 192

The United Nations has said that heavy fighting has “encircled” two hospitals in Khan Younis – Nasser and Al-Amal – leaving thousands of “terrified staff, patients and displaced people trapped inside”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that seven out of 24 hospitals are “partially functioning” in northern Gaza and suffering a shortage of personnel and supplies.

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Journalist Bisan shared a recent post detailing an attack on the Khan Yones camp by the Israeli occupation forces. Consequently, the last functioning hospital in Gaza- Al Nasser Medical Hospital- was under attack as well. Videos of gunfire surfaced on various social media platforms as well.

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The health scenario in Gaza is nearing collapse. Al Jazeera shared a report titled, ‘Against every instinct: How doctors in Gaza persevere amid Israel attacks’, in which it was revealed that almost 192 doctors were killed in Gaza between October 7 and November 8, 2023.

According to the WHO, only 15 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional – nine in the south and six in the north. The hospitals in the south are operating at three times their capacity while facing critical shortages of basic supplies and fuel.

The facilities are “without enough specialized medical staff to manage the volume and range of injuries, nor sufficient medicines and medical supplies, fuel, clean water, or food for patients or staff”, the WHO said in a statement.

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The Ministry of Health in Gaza says occupancy rates are reaching 206 percent in inpatient departments and 250 percent in intensive care units.

From October 7 to November 24, there were 74 Israeli assaults on health facilities with 30 hospitals attacked in Gaza, according to Insecurity Insight, a humanitarian association that collates data on threats facing people in dangerous environments. It delivered 19,000 litres (5,000 gallons) of fuel to al-Shifa Hospital on Tuesday after facing delays at a checkpoint and on damaged roads.

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There have been 212 attacks on medical personnel.

Attack on Hospitals

The hospitals that have been attacked most often include:

1. al-Shifa Hospital – attacked 12 times
2. al-Quds Hospital – attacked nine times
3. Indonesian Hospital – attacked nine times
4. Nasser Hospital – attacked three times

Insecurity Insight documented at least 26 other hospitals from across the Gaza Strip that were attacked by Israeli forces over the same period.

How Gaza’s healthcare system has been destroyed?

Mohamed S Ziara, a Palestinian doctor, talked to Al Jazeera and explained in a tone that is soft and unaffected by the rumbling explosions and pop of gunfire that can be heard in the background.

He is a plastic surgeon working 12- to 14-hour shifts, six days a week at the European Gaza Hospital (EGH) in Khan Younis, where he treats up to 15 cases a day. Ziara describes the healthcare situation as “catastrophic”.

“It doesn’t match anything I’ve seen before, even with previous escalations and war,” says Ziara, who has worked during Israel’s assaults on Gaza since 2014.

He has been posting about Israeli attacks near the EGH and the conditions inside on his Instagram account.

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“No doctor wakes up in the morning and says: ‘I’m going to amputate a child’s leg without anesthesia.’”

“You don’t want to watch children suffer,” Dr Amber Alayyan with Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, told Al Jazeera.

Chronically ill patients

In addition to immediate injuries from Israeli air strikes and artillery, patients with prior and long-term illnesses and vulnerable health conditions are faced with not being treated. According to WHO, they include:

• 1,100 patients in need of kidney dialysis
• 71,000 patients living with diabetes
• 225,000 patients with high blood pressure requiring medication
• 485,000 people with mental health disorders
• cancer patients, 2,000 of whom are diagnosed each year, including 122 children
• 45,000 patients with cardiovascular disease.

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A grim prospect for the future

On January 7, exactly three months into the war on Gaza, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “It is inconceivable that this most essential need – the protection of healthcare – is not assured.”