The global health body has raised the alarm for the emergency department of Gaza's largest hospital, which has been destroyed by the Israeli bombardments, describing it as a “massacre” that “requires resuscitation”.
The World Health Organization's alert for Al-Shifa Hospital comes amid an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip aimed at neutralizing the Hamas group that launched a massive attack in October.
A WHO team delivering medical supplies to the hospital yesterday described the emergency department as a “massacre”, the organization said in a statement.
WHO delivers health supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital and calls for continued access to meet urgent needs in the north #Gaza
WHO staff took part in a joint UN mission to Al-Shifa Hospital in Northern Gaza on December 16 to deliver health supplies and assess the situation in the… pic.twitter.com/gIa3tG97mC
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) December 16, 2023
It said tens of thousands of displaced people have sought shelter in the hospital building and grounds, and that there is a “severe shortage” of drinking water and food. The department had hundreds of patients and new ones were added every minute. “Patients with trauma injuries were sutured on the floor and no pain treatment was available,” the report said.
According to the WHO, Al-Shifa functions on a minimal scale with very few staff. The situation is no better in Al Awda and Al Sahaba Medical Complex, and Al-Ahli Arab is the only “partially functioning” hospital in the entire north of Gaza. Before the war, the blockaded strip had 24 operational health facilities.
Those who are critical are transferred to Al-Ahli Arab Hospital for operations as the operating rooms are not functioning due to a lack of oxygen and supplies.
“Once the main and largest referral hospital in Gaza, Al-Shifa now houses just a handful of doctors and a few nurses, along with 70 volunteers, who work under what WHO staff described as “incredibly challenging conditions” and called it a “hospital” . needs resuscitation,” the WHO wrote on X.
Currently, only 30 patients in the hospital can receive dialysis every day.
Al-Shifa Hospital will be reinforced in the coming weeks so that it can resume basic services, the WHO said.
“Up to 20 hospital operating rooms, as well as postoperative care services, can be activated if they are regularly supplied with fuel, oxygen, medicine, food and water,” the report said.
Israeli bombing has hit all health infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, with the country accusing the Palestinian Hamas group of running a command center beneath the hospital. Hospital officials had denied such claims.
The Israeli counterattack began after Hamas' terror attack on Israeli territory on October 7, which left 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, while more than 200 hostages were transferred across the Gaza border. The death toll on the Gaza side has surpassed 18,800, mostly women and children.