(VitalNews.org) – Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the Middle Area of Gaza is one of the most important hospitals right now, but patients and staff have been forced to leave.
The director of the hospital stated that because of the evacuation orders and increased hostilities, many healthcare workers and about 600 patients have been forced to leave the facility; their location is not being revealed at this time.
The Al-Aqsa Hospital sees a large number of wounded people daily while operating with only, 30% of their staff and an increase in patients. The World Health Organization and the United Nations both stated that there was chaos at the hospital and surrounding areas as “heavy Israeli bombardment from air, land, and sea intensified across much of the Gaza Strip”.
“It is really a chaotic scene. The hospital director just spoke to us, and he said his one request is that this hospital be protected, even though many of his staff have left,” WHO Official, Casey said. He also said that new patients are entering the hospital every few minutes and that at this point there are only 5 doctors left to oversee tons of patients.
“This hospital is currently operating with about 30 percent of the staff that it had just a few days ago. They are seeing, in some cases, hundreds of casualties every day in a small emergency department,” said Casey.
Casey continued by saying that he and his team delivered some necessities to the hospital and WHO is considering deploying emergency staff for Al-Aqsa. Al-Aqsa is one of the last hospitals standing as there are no more functional hospitals in Northern Gaza.
Medical aids are being asked to leave. Medical Aid for Palestinians, or MAP, and the International Rescue Committee, or IRC, both said that their emergency medical teams were forced to leave the hospital due to increased Israeli military activity.
Despite the overflowing hospitals, Israel is not letting up on the violence in Gaza and they are continuing to target both health facilities and residential areas. Since October 7 at least 22,800 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks, including 9,600 children.
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