Red Cross, 11 partners open field hospital in Rafah

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and 11 Red Cross National Societies combined efforts to open a field hospital in Rafah, Gaza, to help address the "overwhelming medical needs," the ICRC’s global media team leader said on Tuesday.

"The hospital is now open today and functioning. In fact, in the days leading up to the opening today, we have had our first patients, including a first birth," Jason Straziuso told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

The 60-bed field hospital is meant to complement and support the Palestine Red Crescent Society's work as the medical and humanitarian community attempts to meet vast health needs in Gaza, Straziuso said.

According to Straziuso, the field hospital will provide, emergency surgical care, obstetric/gynecological, maternal, and newborn care, pediatric care, and outpatient department. Mass casualty management and triage capacities are also included.

Red Cross Societies of Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Japan, Norway, and Switzerland are among those societies that will be able to provide medical care for roughly 200 people a day, he said.

He said that the field hospital team will be comprised of around 30 humanitarian experts.

Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on X that more than 78,500 people are wounded in Gaza. “Need to ensure access to health care and treatment," he added.

"Denmark supports the Red Cross in establishing a field hospital in Gaza," Rasmussen said, adding: "Will also continue pressure on Israel to let in far more humanitarian aid."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip following Palestinian resistance group Hamas' cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 35,180 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed, and over 79,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

More than seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.