During the process of evacuating displaced people from Nasser Medical Complex (communication sites)
UN and international concerns and warnings have escalated regarding the fate of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, which is one of the main medical facilities still in service in the Strip, amid international relief attempts to enter it despite the ongoing raids by the Israeli occupation army.
In recent days, violent fighting broke out near the hospital, which was stormed by the Israeli occupation army. The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced that the electricity supply was cut off and the generators stopped after the hospital was raided, which led to the death of 5 patients due to lack of oxygen.
The occupation announced yesterday, Thursday, that its forces entered the hospital based on “reliable intelligence information” stating that “hostages” who were taken in the attack were in the facility and that the bodies of some of them may still be inside, but it later said that it had not yet found evidence to prove this.
An eyewitness, who requested anonymity to protect his safety, told Agence France-Presse that Israeli forces opened fire on “anyone who was moving inside the hospital.”
The Gaza Ministry of Health also raised concerns about 4 other patients in the intensive care unit and 3 children, saying that it holds Israel “responsible for the lives of patients and staff, given that it is now under its full control.”
Attempts to reach the hospital
Doctors Without Borders noted the “chaotic situation” at Nasser Hospital, saying doctors had to flee and leave patients behind, with one staff member missing and another arrested by Israeli forces.
For its part, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights considered that the Israeli raid on Nasser Hospital appears to be “part of a pattern of attacks launched by Israeli forces on essential life-saving civilian infrastructure in Gaza, especially hospitals.”
In a press conference on Friday, World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said that the United Nations agency is trying to reach the hospital to supply it with fuel and assess the situation.
Jasarevic added, "There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continued provision of life-saving services. We are trying to reach out because the people who are still in the Nasser Medical Complex need help."
Since January 22, the Israeli army has launched a series of intense air and artillery raids on Khan Yunis and around the city's hospitals, amid ground advances by its vehicles in the southern and western regions, prompting thousands of Palestinians to flee the city.
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip that has left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. .
Source: Agencies