Unbearable humanitarian crisis unfolds in Gaza as hospitals cease operations
On Thursday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that there are no longer any functional hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The situation was described as “beyond catastrophic,” with largely abandoned patients pleading for food and water.
Two badly damaged hospitals, Al-Shifa and Al-Ahli, were the focus of WHO-led missions on Wednesday.
Richard Peeperkorn, the WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, expressed the severity of the crisis, stating that their staff is running out of words to describe the unbearable scenes facing remaining patients and health workers.
This alarming development comes amid intensified diplomatic efforts to secure a pause in the ongoing war, which Hamas claims has already claimed 20,000 lives in Gaza, with 70 percent of the casualties being women and children.
The conflict, initiated when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, has resulted in a reported 1,140 deaths, predominantly civilians, and approximately 250 abductions.
Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, had been the focus of an extended Israeli army operation, described by WHO as a “blood bath.”
The smaller Al-Ahli hospital, the last place for surgeries in the north, ceased operations on Tuesday after being stormed by the Israeli army.
The WHO-led mission to Al-Ahli revealed a dire situation. Just two days ago, the hospital was overwhelmed with patients needing emergency care, but it has now become “a shell of a hospital.”
Operating theatres are non-existent due to a lack of fuel, power, medical supplies, and health workers, including surgeons and specialists.
Of the original 36 hospitals in Gaza, only nine are now partially functional, all located in the south. There are no functional hospitals left in the north.
Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been targeted by Israeli strikes, with the military accusing Hamas of using medical facilities as command centers.
The WHO, however, stated they have not observed such activities during their missions.
Despite the mission’s aim to deliver fuel, security concerns allowed them to provide only medical supplies and medicines. Richard Peeperkorn emphasized that without fuel, staff, and essential needs, medicines alone won’t make a difference, and patients will face a slow and painful demise.
The situation at Al Ahli remains dire, with around 10 staff providing basic first aid, while approximately 80 patients seek shelter in a church within the hospital grounds.
The WHO Emergency Medical Teams coordinator, Sean Casey, described “unbelievable conditions” during the mission, highlighting the urgency for a ceasefire to allow aid and the evacuation of more patients from Gaza.
Sean Casey, witnessing the dire conditions, stated, “At the moment, it is a place where people are waiting to die.”
Urgent calls for a ceasefire grow louder as the humanitarian crisis deepens, with Casey expressing concern that it may already be too late. Starving adults and children, even in hospitals with open, bleeding fractures, are pleading for food, painting a grim picture of desperation in Gaza.
About The Author
