Going out of service at European hospital in Khan Yunis increases suffering and struggle of citizens to access basic healthcare services

GAZA: The European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, went out of service after the hospital staff had to evacuate medical equipment and patients due to Israeli occupation threats and "evacuation orders" to residents in the eastern parts of the district and the area of Al-Fukhari, where the hospital is located. Medical equipment and supplies were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex, located about eight kilometers west of Khan Yunis, which has resumed partial operations despite having been subjected to bombing, siege, and raids by the occupation forces several months ago. The suffering and struggle of citizens to access basic healthcare services has increased due to the closure of the European Gaza Hospital following Israeli threats. The European hospital provided significant medical services at a time when hospitals in southern Gaza had either been completely shut down or were only partially operational. In its daily report, the Ministry of Health stated that only 15 out of 36 hospital s in the Gaza Strip are operational, and all of them are functioning partially. Hospitals face severe shortages of medical staff and supplies, including anesthesia and antibiotics, making it extremely challenging for healthcare workers to save lives. Around 500 healthcare workers have been killed and hundreds more have been injured. Israeli occupation forces have detained over 310 others. Additionally, 130 ambulances have been destroyed by the occupation forces during their ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip for the past nine months. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the volume of medical supplies entering Gaza is insufficient for sustaining the health response, and all medical evacuations outside Gaza remain halted. Despite international humanitarian and human rights organizations' denunciation of the targeting of hospitals and the healthcare system as a clear violation of the principles and standards of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which provides s pecial protection for hospitals and medical facilities during armed conflicts and wars, and that such targeting constitutes a crime against humanity and amounts to a war crime, the occupation continues to attack hospitals and healthcare infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in blatant disregard of all international and humanitarian laws. Source: Palestine news & Information Agency - WAFA