GAZA CITY: Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip is grappling with a dire situation as it runs out of food, water, and medical supplies amidst Israeli brutalities against innocent Palestinians.
The hospital’s director, Muhammed Abu Salmiya, refuted Israel’s claim of providing incubators, asserting that the hospital is in urgent need of fuel to generate electricity for existing incubators.
Contrary to the Israeli army’s announcement earlier in the week about providing incubators, Salmiya stated, “We are not in need of incubators; we already have incubators in the hospital, yet we are out of fuel to generate electricity for the incubators.” He lamented that many premature newborns have died as a result of the lack of oxygen in the incubators.
Doctor Ahmed El Mokhallalati, speaking from Al-Shifa Hospital, expressed the grim reality of diminishing food and water supplies. He described the provisions from the Israeli military as “very, very minimal.” Despite ongoing searches by Israeli forces in the hospital complex, no substantial findings have been reported.
WHO Calls for Regular Flow of Patients from Gaza to Egypt
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) has pleaded for a regular flow of patients to be allowed out of Gaza for treatment in Egypt, aiming to alleviate the immense pressure on overwhelmed hospitals.
Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, stressed the urgency of daily sustained, orderly, unimpeded, and safe medical evacuations for critically injured and sick patients into neighboring Egypt.
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with 25 out of 36 hospitals non-functional and those still operating struggling to provide essential services.
Meanwhile, renowned British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta, currently in Gaza, accused Israel of aiming to “maximize the expulsion of Palestinians” amid the ongoing conflict. Abu Sitta, specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery, shared his perspective on the 42nd day of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, which started on October 7.
