“The reality is there is no real health care available for people in the northern Gaza right now.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the health care system in northern Gaza has been systematically destroyed by the Israeli army with the Kamal Adwan Hospital now out of service.
“We’ve seen the systematic dismantling of the health system in northern Gaza,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris told the Anadolu news agency.
“It’s been under siege, really, for 80 days, and this is putting the lives of, we estimate, 75,000 Palestinians who remain in the area at great risk,” Harris emphasized.
JUST IN: Footage from Hebrew Channel 14 shows the final moments around Kamal Adwan Hospital.
From inside the tank, Israeli soldiers ask Doctor Hussam to lift his shirt and mock him for not having changed his clothes in a week.
After filming stopped, they stripped him and his… pic.twitter.com/pbVuYrgzQe
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) December 29, 2024
She confirmed that the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last major medical facility in northern Gaza, was now empty, reported Anadolu, with critically ill patients transferred to the Indonesian Hospital, which is already struggling due to a lack of essential equipment and supplies.
“The reality is there is no real health care available for people in the northern Gaza right now,” said Harris.
Dr. Abu Safiya’s Detention
On the detention of the hospital’s director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, by Israeli authorities, Harris said the WHO had no information on his status.
Dr. Abu Safiya: Gaza’s Voice of Humanity Silenced
Demand justice for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a #Gaza doctor tortured and detained by #Israel after his son was killed—his release is a fight for humanity. #GazaGenocide #GazaHolocaust pic.twitter.com/bpsfZZ6kQP
— Ramzy Baroud (@RamzyBaroud) December 30, 2024
In other parts of Gaza, said Harris, people were also grappling with inadequate shelter and food, making access to medical care increasingly difficult.
She noted that other hospitals in Gaza were also under attack, with two facilities in central Gaza hit recently, further exacerbating the situation, the Anadolu report added.
Infants Frozen to Death
Seven Palestinians, including six infants, have died in recent days due to the extreme cold that has gripped the enclave.
Commenting on the deaths, Harris described the situation as “unbearably sad.”
“This is the cruelest thing you can do to parents not able to provide the most basic things for their child and to watch their little ones die,” she added.
Six Children Freeze to Death in Gaza – Rainfall Worsens Conditions for Displaced
Harris noted that a year ago “we predicted that because people were forced out of their homes and not provided with adequate shelter and adequate services.”
“If the bombs didn’t kill them, the diseases and the deprivation would…I couldn’t believe that this would actually come to pass,” the WHO spokesperson emphasized.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A video documents an Israeli Apache helicopter firing at Palestinians’ homes in northern Gaza. pic.twitter.com/py0niB84uk
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) December 30, 2024
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,541 Palestinians have been killed, and 108,338 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,200 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Humanitarian Disaster
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Palestinian journalist Ibrahim Al-Khalili reports on the harsh conditions faced by Palestinians across Gaza to obtain bread with the onset of the rainy season, amid a shortage of essential supplies and fuel due to the severe Israeli blockade that has lasted for more than 14… pic.twitter.com/JL88S16KpG
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) December 31, 2024
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(Anadolu, PC)
