Latest news with #KhalilAlDaqran
The National
23-05-2025
- Health
- The National
Patients stranded as northern Gaza's last hospitals shut down
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza All hospitals in northern Gaza have ceased operations after days of intense Israeli assaults, leaving hundreds of patients and displaced people with no access to life-saving care. Israeli tanks entered the courtyard of Al Awda Hospital at dawn on Thursday, firing shells that hit the surgery wing, said Dr Raafat Al Majdalawi. Gaza's Indonesian Hospital – the only other infirmary that was still offering services in the north – was forced to shut down earlier this week. The tanks at Al Awda also fired at the main hospital building, hitting water tanks and fuel reserves, starting fires that spread throughout the complex, said Dr Al Majdalawi, director general of the Al Awda Health and Community Association. He said 130 people were inside at the time – patients, medical staff and administrators. Although the Israeli tanks withdrew by morning, Al Awda remained under heavy fire and is no longer operational. "It is deeply tragic that northern Gaza is now without medical services," said Khalil Al Daqran, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told The National. "Thousands still need treatment but due to the relentless military operations, hospital sieges and targeted bombardments, medical care has become inaccessible. This is not just a violation of international law, it is a deliberate act of cruelty." Israel has this month launched a new military offensive known as Operation Gideon's Chariots, under which it plans to take control of the entire Gaza strip, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The war has devastated Gaza's health sector and led to a critical shortage of supplies. Israel this week allowed limited aid deliveries to resume after a two-month blockade, but as of Thursday the UN said fewer than 200 aid lorries had arrived, compared to thousands each week during a ceasefire from January to March. The situation is especially dire given that Al Awda and the Indonesian Hospital were the last medical complexes standing in northern Gaza. Patients at a third hospital, Kamal Adwan, were placed under an Israeli eviction notice in December before troops stormed the building. It had continued to function as a basic first aid station, offering limited emergency services despite sustaining severe damage. However, last Friday and Saturday, the remaining medical teams were forced to evacuate due to intense bombardment and gunfire in the area. Israeli military vehicles then approached the Indonesian Hospital on Sunday, demolishing part of a wall after arriving at its northern perimeter. The following morning, Israeli forces set fire to the hospital's generators, completely cutting power and stranding staff and patients inside. At Al Awda, Israeli tanks "roamed the hospital grounds for hours" before withdrawing, Dr Al Majdalawi told The National. "During the incursion, they set fire to the tents of the outpatient clinics. Several staff members and volunteers suffered minor injuries. "We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for their safety and well-being. We urgently call on the international community and the World Health Organisation to intervene and protect the hospital." Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network, told The National the health system had "completely collapsed". He said thousands of civilians in northern Gaza would now be left without any access to medical care. "All hospitals are out of service. This is a humanitarian catastrophe," he said. "What we are witnessing is a calculated and systematic campaign to eliminate the healthcare infrastructure in northern Gaza." He accused the Israeli military of committing war crimes by targeting hospitals, medical personnel and patients. Israel says Hamas uses hospitals as military bases and command centres. Health officials are urging the UN, the WHO and international human rights groups to take immediate action to protect medical services and ensure the safety of healthcare workers and civilians. Without international intervention, health officials warn more lives will be lost, not just from air strikes, but from the total collapse of Gaza's ability to care for its sick and wounded.
The National
10-04-2025
- Health
- The National
How war has devastated Gaza's healthcare sector
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza Despite protection under international humanitarian law, Gaza's healthcare system has suffered catastrophic damage during Israel's war in the Palestinian enclave. Near-total destruction of medical infrastructure and a critical shortage of personnel and resources has left injured civilians unable to receive adequate treatment. Israeli military attacks have destroyed homes and infrastructure across the coastal strip, but appear to have particularly targeted medical facilities, which it claims have served as cover for the militant group Hamas that Israel has vowed to destroy. Gaza's Health Ministry says that besides killing more than 50,800 Palestinians over the course of 18 months of war, most of them civilians, the attacks have left more than 115,000 injured. 'During the Israeli genocide, medical and healthcare teams worked tirelessly to provide services to citizens,' Dr Khalil Al Daqran, a ministry spokesman, told The National. "However, the situation was extremely difficult. Our teams were overwhelmed by the intensity of attacks, the enormous number of injuries, and a severe shortage of supplies and staff. 'The [Israeli] occupation deliberately targeted healthcare facilities, taking them out of service and crippling our ability to respond to the escalating humanitarian emergency. The hospitals that remained operational were running round the clock at full capacity, doing everything possible to save lives.' Since the war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed about 1,200 about people and took an estimated 250 hostage during raids in southern Israel, 34 out of 38 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been completely or partly destroyed in air strikes, shelling and raids by Israeli troops. Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, the largest medical complex in the territory, was stormed twice, in November 2023 and last April. Medical staff were arrested and the hospital was destroyed. Patient's Friends Hospital, also in Gaza city, was stormed in February last year and later hit by air strikes in July. It went out of service but operations have been partially restored. Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, was stormed a number of times between December 2023 and December last year, with staff and patients detained. Military raids and air strikes have left it in ruins. The Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia was raided in November 2023 and again in October 2024, with parts destroyed and set on fire. Al Awda Hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza, was stormed in November 2023. Parts of the hospital were damaged in shelling and it remained under siege for months. Abu Youssef Al Najjar Hospital, the only major medical complex in the southern city of Rafah, was severely damaged early in the war and rendered inoperable. Although it remained standing during the Israeli military's assault on the city last May, it is now flattened. Nasser Hospital, in the southern city of Khan Younis, was stormed in February last year, with some staff and patients killed or arrested. Another hospital in the city, Al Amal, was raided and hit by air strikes in the same month, resulting in casualties and destruction of infrastructure. In addition to hospitals, Israeli strikes led to the closure of at least 80 health centres, including emergency clinics and first-aid units that provided critical medical services across Gaza, the ministry says. The ministry has also reported the destruction of 162 medical institutions, run by both government and non-profit organisations. Key administrative, financial and storage facilities belonging to the ministry were targeted. Emergency transport was not spared – more than 140 ambulances have been destroyed, paralysing Gaza's already strained emergency response system. The war has exacted a heavy toll on Gaza's medical personnel. More than 1,060 health workers have been killed, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and administrators, the ministry says. An additional 3,500 medical personnel have been injured and about 360 were arrested, prompting a severe shortage of skilled professionals at a time of dire need. Dr Adnan Al Bursh, one of Gaza's most renowned surgeons, was detained when troops raided Al Awda Hospital in December 2023 and he later died in Israeli custody. Dr Hossam Abu Safiyah, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, was arrested in December after forces laid siege to the complex and remains in Israeli custody. In the most recent incident, eight members of the Palestinian Red Crescent were killed along with six civil defence workers and a UN staff member when Israeli troops attacked their convoy as they were responding to calls for assistance in Rafah. 'Throughout the genocide, we worked intensely with our remaining teams to rehabilitate damaged hospitals and bring them back into service,' said Dr Al Daqran. 'But we are suffering from a major shortage of healthcare professionals due to the killing and detention of so many.' Gaza is in urgent need of international medical assistance, he added. 'We desperately need external medical teams and field hospitals to fill the gap. Delays in treatment worsen the crisis – especially as the occupation continues its relentless siege on Gaza's civilian population.'
