Gaza: The Israeli occupation was intentionally decimating hospitals and primary healthcare facilities during its two-year-long aggression against the Gaza Strip, said Director of Al Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya. Abu Salmiya affirmed to Qatar News Agency (QNA) that revamping the damaged hospitals and those rendered non-operational requires substantial time and effort. He stressed that the main hospitals in northern and southern Gaza, including the Indonesian Hospital and Gaza European Hospital, have been incapacitated due to relentless bombardment and targeting by the Israeli occupation forces during the war on Gaza.
According to Qatar News Agency, bolstering the remaining operational hospitals in the enclave is an utmost priority and cannot afford any further delay, Abu Salmiya underlined, noting that patients are in desperate need of these hospitals, especially those with cancer, cardiac, and renal conditions, as well as those requiring maternal and neonatal care.
There are formidable and cataclysmic challenges overshadowing the operation of the health sector in the enclave following the ceasefire, as the Ministry of Health strives to restore the minimum threshold of health services to the Strip, in addition to advancing the sector by conducting a comprehensive inventory of the damages, he highlighted.
Abu Salmiya pointed out that the Israeli occupation destroyed critical sections at the sole pediatric specialty hospital in Gaza City, which was providing essential services to thousands of children in northern Gaza, including the pediatric ward, intensive care unit, and oxygen supply station.
The remaining operational hospitals are bursting at the seams with thousands of patients, where bed capacity has reached 250%, amid the worsening crisis of medical and pharmaceutical shortages, Abu Salmiya said, before adding that over 60% of essential drug items and 70% of laboratory supplies are depleted.
He emphasized that many patients and wounded people across the Gaza Strip are in urgent need of adequately equipped facilities to receive proper medical care, explaining that medical practitioners have been operating for two years under depleting and catastrophic conditions, facing recurrent displacement, losing relatives, including sons and daughters, and being directly targeted during the Israeli onslaught.
Abu Salmiya stated that 1,701 medical personnel were killed during the war, including 320 physicians, consultants, specialists, nurses, and administrative staff, underscoring that this represents a significant loss requiring considerable time to offset.
This necessitates the urgent entry of medical delegations and the acceleration of patient and casualty transfers for treatment abroad, particularly given the discussions regarding the reopening of the Rafah crossing following the cessation of hostilities and the implementation of a ceasefire, he outlined.
Abu Salmiya noted that international organizations have been attempting for months to deliver medical supplies piling up at border crossings, along with diagnostic imaging equipment, which is critical for the execution of emergency interventions for patients and the injured.
However, to date, none of the urgent supplies expected to enter in the days ahead have reached the hospitals or storage facilities across the Gaza Strip, he warned.
He further highlighted that 17,000 patients are in desperate need of travel abroad for treatment, while hospitals are currently providing only primary emergency care, cautioning that if humanitarian aid and medical equipment are not delivered promptly, additional casualties are inevitable.
Abu Salmiya further stressed that thousands of patients and wounded are in urgent need of well-equipped, fully qualified facilities to receive medical care, as the suspension of specialized and diagnostic services is grinding the health system to a halt, exacerbating the crisis and impeding complex surgical interventions.
The Gaza health sector is reeling from an overwhelming crisis due to the persistent denial of access to medicines and medical devices, coupled with two years of Israeli targeting of medical personnel through killings and detentions.
This is compounded by the methodical devastation of key hospitals, as corroborated by reports from international, UN, and human rights institutions, which have issued warnings of the impending collapse of the health system, along with the incapacity to meet Gaza's needs amid the unprecedented upsurge in patients and casualties and the urgent requirement for critical medical interventions.