Health situation in Gaza 'beyond catastrophic': Officials

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - The current health situation in Gaza is "beyond catastrophic," with most hospitals completely out of service in Gaza City and the north, officials said Tuesday.

Ghada Al Jadba, the Gaza health chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and Nebal Farsakh, the spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, made statements in the UK parliament regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

"Out of 36 hospitals, 30 of them now are completely out of service. The area of Gaza City and the north have been left without any medical services...There's around 800,000 Palestinians who still live in Gaza City and the north. Those people almost completely have no access to medical services," she said.

"We should also remember that there's elderly people, sick people, people with disabilities, people with chronic diseases. Those people were completely trapped in the area of Gaza City," she added.

Farsakh emphasized that health services are limited due to a shortage of medicines and lack of electricity.

"Doctors do use flashlights in order to be able to treat patients.

"And nowadays, we are unable completely to send any humanitarian aid to Gaza City and the north," she added.

Farsakh also noted that hospitals in Khan Younis are forced to intervene with a large number of casualties because the surroundings of these facilities are targeted in Israeli attacks.

She said Al Amal Hospital, one of the few still functioning in the south and which is duly marked by the Red Crescent emblem, has been targeted.

"There have been three times artillery shelling targeting three different floors in our building, which has a very clear Red Crescent emblem, which should be protected. And this has resulted in at least seven people being killed, with 12 others injured," she said.

In shelters, there are 50,000 pregnant women living in inhumane and extraordinary conditions, deprived of water, food and medical care. Under these inhumane circumstances, 180 women give birth every day, she noted.

- How UK responds to situation is 'existential question for Palestinians'

According to Rohan Talbot, director of Advocacy and Campaigns at British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, it "is the point now where how the UK responds to that situation is an existential question for Palestinians in Gaza, not just a humanitarian one.”

He said there around 450,000 cases of infectious diseases including more than 100,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea, with more than half of those in under-fives, as well as skin diseases, hepatitis and respiratory illnesses.

"Those are spreading significantly. And we should say that these are all underestimates because public health surveillance has collapsed along with the rest of the health care system," he said.

"A quarter of the population is facing catastrophic levels of hunger…It is our assessment now…that the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza by Israel and the siege are effectively making it impossible to sustain human life in Gaza, particularly in those areas of the north.”

According to Al Jadba, even the UN cannot provide protection to the people of Gaza, and the hospitals that should be protected cannot either.

"Not even the European Union flag can ensure protection. A UNRWA school was attacked, and people died or were injured in our school. People seeking refuge in UNRWA are not safe either," she said.

She expressed their call for support for a cease-fire from around the world, including the UK, while noting that "even if a cease-fire is declared today, the crisis will not end. What the children have witnessed is more than enough for them."