DaysofPal- The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) imposed strict measures on hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, putting the lives of tens of thousands of wounded and sick civilians at risk of death.
The IOF continued to deliberately block all medical and fuel supplies to the health facilities in northern Gaza to force their closure.
Moreover, IOF threatened medical staff to evacuate three hospitals or to be bombed. However, the medics refused to comply, affirming they are committed to continuing providing services to citizens with the minimal resources available.
Additionally, IOF have repeatedly targeted hospitals with gunfire, causing injuries among medical teams, patients, and displaced people taking shelter at the hospitals.
Alaa Abu Odeh, Director General of the Engineering and Maintenance Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, stressed that the siege of the three remaining hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip—Kamal Adwan, Indonesian, and Al-Awda—amidst Israeli evacuation orders, threatens their ability to continue providing services to thousands of citizens.
Abu Odeh noted that IOF blocked the entry of fuel needed to operate hospitals, particularly intensive care units and operating rooms.
To avoid international criticism, the occupation forces allowed a small amount of fuel to enter Kamal Adwan Hospital.
However, this is only enough to run its generators for a few hours, leaving a major crisis that continues to threaten the operation of hospitals.
Hospitals in the Gaza Strip require approximately 24,000 liters of fuel daily to remain operational, with 12,000 liters needed for hospitals in the north and Gaza City, and another 12,000 liters for hospitals in the central and southern regions, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Furthermore, IOF blocked the entry of essential medical supplies to hospitals, including oxygen and anesthesia medications, refusing to allow blood units from the southern regions to be transferred to hospitals in Gaza and the north.
The IOF further prevented the entry of supplies and spare parts for the electric generators that hospitals depend on after they were vandalized during previous Israeli invasions over the course of a year of the war of extermination, according to Alaa Abu Odeh.
These Israeli measures are part of a broader military campaign aimed at forcibly displacing residents of the northern Gaza Strip to the south.
The campaign has involved indiscriminate shelling, killings, and the complete destruction of homes and neighborhoods, as well as the destruction of wells and bakeries. This has resulted in the deaths of more than 400 civilians, including children and women, hundreds of injuries, and dozens of missing persons, with many victims still trapped under the rubble and on the streets.
Iyad Zaqout, the Director General of the Emergency and Ambulance Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, stated that the occupation army is deliberately obstructing ambulance crews from reaching the injured inside the Jabalia refugee camp.
IOF have been shooting at ambulances and targeting rescue teams, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many of them while they were carrying out their humanitarian duties.
In addition, IOF deliberately targeted hospitals, destroying their infrastructure, committing massacres within their yards, and arresting and killing medical workers. These actions have resulted in most hospitals going out of service and the collapse of the health system.
Hanan Balkhi, the Regional Director of the World Health Organization, described the health situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” during televised statements, expressing her deep concern over the significant deterioration of public health in the Strip.
She called for the international community to pressure IOF and protect health sector workers, especially given that the situation cannot afford a further shortage of medical personnel.
It is noteworthy that the current Israeli military aggression in the Jabalia area and its camp marks the third such operation conducted by the occupation since the onset of the extermination war on October 7, 2023.
The area has faced all forms of military targeting, along with atrocities committed against civilians and restrictions on their access to food, medicine, and water.
As it enters its second consecutive year, the Israeli genocide war against the Gaza Strip continues, with over 42,409 Palestinian civilians having been killed and over 99,153 others injured so far since October 7, 2023.
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