Gaza health system "worse" than expected, says Canadian surgeon after returning from Khan Younis
"You have to decide who you’re going to be saving and who has to be left behind.”
These are the words of a Canadian surgeon who's just returned from Gaza, having spent two weeks working in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave. Anas Al-Kassem has detailed the impossible decisions that the last few remaining doctors are having to make, as staff, equipment and supplies run dangerously low amid Israel's offensive.
Al-Kassem told CNN Wednesday that the state of Gaza’s heath system was “worse than what I expected." “I think it is worse than what I expected to be honest with you,” he told CNN’s John Vause, adding that Israeli bombardment in Gaza had been more intense than what he had experienced working in Aleppo during the civil war in Syria.
“The healthcare system was not probably the best because of the siege on Gaza for years,” he said, adding that in the current war “it was at the verge of collapsing and 100% it did collapse.”
A lack of adequate medical supplies has impacted remaining healthcare facilities in the territory, he said. “We have a major lack of equipment, of the medical supplies, you know, CT scan machine, and things like that, let alone the lack of drugs [such as] ... analgesia, antibiotics,” he said, adding that he had to perform stitches on patients without aesthetic so he could conserve it for major surgeries.
On the ground: Israel's siege and severe restrictions on food, fuel and water entering Gaza has crushed the health care system, forcing medical workers to grapple with severely wounded patients in an environment stripped of essential supplies and infrastructure.
Only 13 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning, and bed occupancy is at 351%, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.
In Deir al-Balah, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reported receiving dozens of casualties from several parts of central Gaza, from heavy air strikes that pounded the area. Further south, where the Israeli military has concentrated parts of its campaign, the World Health Organization stressed it "cannot afford" to lose the remaining operational hospitals.
Israel pushes back on Slovenia claim it has "definitely" breached law in Gaza
Israel pushed back Wednesday at a Slovenian claim that its forces in Gaza had committed “violations of international humanitarian law, violations of humanitarian rights law,” with the prime minister’s office saying “all civilian casualties” were Hamas’s fault.
The Israel Defense Forces “does its utmost to avoid civilian casualties including providing early warning before attack, safe passage corridors and designated safer zones,” the prime minister’s office told CNN.
“This has been particularly difficult because Hamas embeds itself in Palestinian civilian neighborhoods, using Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages as human shields. That is Hamas’s strategy and the international community should not allow it to be effective. All civilian casualties are on Hamas’s hands.”
Israeli military says it struck more than 150 targets in Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Wednesday said it struck more than 150 "terror targets" across Gaza over the past day.
In a statement, the IDF said “dozens of terrorist operatives” were killed by Israeli forces in the southern city of Khan Younis. The IDF said it directed aircraft to target "terrorists" in two separate operations in the area.
Some of the heaviest combat in recent days has been reported in Khan Younis, where there is fighting on the ground as well as regular airstrikes.
15 killed in air strike on Rafah City apartment building
The Wafa news agency reports that at least 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured by an Israeli air strike in Rafah City, southern Gaza.
Earlier, we reported that several people had been killed when an apartment building was hit in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood of the city. Medical sources said the bodies have been brought to the Kuwaiti hospital.
“We were bombed tonight while in a house that was crowded with displaced people,” Harb Nofal, a resident of the house that was targeted, said. “There are four women among those killed. What was their fault? What was the fault of the children [who were killed]?”
Five-year-old girl dies of wounds after MSF shelter shelled in Khan Younis
A five-year-old girl was killed after a Médecins San Frontières (MSF) shelter in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis was hit by a “suspected tank shell,” MSF said in a statement Tuesday. MSF says that they cannot confirm the origin of the shell, however “it appears to be similar to those used by Israeli tanks.”
“The shell did not detonate on impact, otherwise many more of our staff and their families would have most likely been killed,” the MSF project coordinator in Gaza, Thomas Lauvin, said. The child, who is a family member of MSF staff, underwent surgery after she was critically injured by the shell and died of her wounds the following day, MSF said.
Three others received minor injuries after the shell broke through the walls of the shelter, which is housing more than a hundred MSF staff and their families, according to MSF. MSF said they did not receive evacuation orders to leave the shelter, despite informing the Israeli army of their location.
“Prior to the incident, MSF notified Israeli forces that the shelter near Gaza European Hospital was housing MSF staff and their families,” the statement said. MSF has contacted Israeli authorities for further explanation, the group said.
When asked about the incident, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN on Tuesday that it is “operating to dismantle Hamas military and administrative capabilities,” and that the IDF “follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.” Four members of MSF’s staff have been killed since the beginning of the war in addition to multiple family members, MSF said.
Crucial power generators targeted, catch fire in central Gaza
A power generator plant has been targeted in the Bureij area of central Gaza. This plant hosts four major generators used to supply electricity in Gaza.
Because of the intensity of the Israeli strikes, the plant caught on fire, severely damaging all four generators and the physical infrastructure around it.
This will cause further suffering for Palestinians after the war ends. It will make it even more difficult to get electricity, exacerbating the misery and unbearable living conditions across the Gaza Strip.
Building housing generators for field hospital attacked
There is zero guarantee of safety near the International Medical Corps’ field hospital in northern Rafah city.
Right after we finished our first report here, a building right across the street – just 50 metres (164 feet) away – was targeted by a strike. We heard a loud explosion and then saw a cloud of dark smoke. What we learned is that this building, which had been evacuated, had power generators that supply electricity to the field hospital.
This is another reminder that nothing is safe here, not even a field hospital.
Concern for Nasser hospital as Israeli troops push deeper into Khan Younis
We are not seeing any restraint. We are seeing a surge in the sheer level of destruction, particularly in Khan Younis and Rafah city.
In central Gaza, where some of the most intense bombing is taking place, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah is overwhelmed with the number of injured streaming in. The hospital’s services and medical supplies are not enough.
Israel’s military also announced it is expanding ground operations in Khan Younis, not only in the eastern and southern parts, but deeper into the city’s central area. As a result, there is deep concern for Nasser hospital, which is located there.
Death toll in Gaza rises to 23,357
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says that 23,357 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. At least 59,410 others have been wounded. In the past 24 hours, the ministry said 147 Palestinians were killed and 243 wounded.
About 8,000 are missing under the rubble and presumed to be dead, but are not counted as part of the official death toll.
Gaza Health Ministry: Staff inspected cases resulting from use of banned weapons
The spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza says that medical teams have examined cases resulting from Israel’s use of internationally prohibited non-conventional weapons.
“The health system in the Gaza Strip is constantly collapsing in light of the ongoing bombing and the absence of medical aid,” Ashraf al-Qudra said.
He added that the Israeli forces have sentenced 800,000 people to death in northern Gaza as a result of the catastrophic healthcare system in hospitals.
Israeli deputy speaker says ‘Gaza and its people must be burned’
Nissim Vatur, a member of the Likud party, has said “Gaza and its people must be burned”.
“I have no pity for them,” he added in an interview with Kol Barama radio station.
Vatur, a deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset (parliament), later said in a post on X that he made the remarks for “the elimination of the terrorists who remained in Gaza” as “all citizens were evacuated to the south a long time ago”.
An estimated 800,000 Palestinians have remained in northern Gaza.
Ceasefire calls ‘disconnected from situation on the ground’: US
The US deputy ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, called it “striking” that nations pressing for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza have made few demands of Hamas after its deadly October attack.
Wood said Hamas should be told to “stop hiding behind civilians, lay down its arms, and surrender”. He also highlighted US efforts to secure a “pause” in the fighting to get 136 Israeli captives out of Gaza.
Who is disconnected from the situation on the ground...
