Surgeon describes dire conditions in Gaza hospitals
Gaza’s healthcare system has nearly collapsed, with the Palestinian Health Ministry saying it has documented more than 270 attacks on medical facilities across the besieged enclave since the war began.
Dr Victoria Aveson is a surgeon volunteering with the charity group Humanity Auxilium in Gaza. She says healthcare facilities face several challenges as they try to treat injured Palestinians.
No room left for more patients at Gaza hospital
The conditions at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital are very dire … In fact, we can go as far as describing it as above emergency situations.
If you walk into the emergency department, you see patients on the floor of the hospital waiting for medical staff to check and assess their injuries. They are overwhelmed by the number of cases arriving at the hospital.
We continuously see ambulances being dispatched to newly bombed sites. There is almost no room left for more cases to be accommodated. On top of that, medical supplies are lacking. Bandages and pain medication are not available.
The hospital has turned into a stage for funerals. Since we arrived this morning, we have seen at least eight funerals at the hospital.
Aid groups say Israel blocking 83 percent of food aid from reaching Gaza
People in Gaza are only eating an average of one meal per day as the Israeli army is blocking 83 percent of the food aid needed from reaching the besieged enclave, a group of 15 aid organisations have said in a joint statement.
The amount of aid being blocked by Israel has increased substantially from 2023, when just 34 percent of food aid was being blocked, the organisations added in the statement.
Amjad Al Shawa, the director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) said in the statement that 100 percent of Gaza’s population is now dependent on aid and the shortages mean people are starving.
“We are overwhelmed [with] these needs and [these] urgent requirements”, Al Shawa said.
The aid organisations that released the statement included Save the Children, ActionAid, Christian Aid and Islamic Relief.
