🇳🇴 Urgent Appeal by Dr. Mads Gilbert: Humanitarian Crisis Unfolds as Israeli Aggression Devastates Gaza’s Health System

Last Updated on December 24, 2023

In a heart-wrenching update from the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Gaza, occupied Palestine, Dr. Mads Gilbert issues a desperate appeal for immediate international intervention. The Ministry’s spokesman, Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra, delivered alarming statistics and harrowing details during a health conference on the 73rd day of the brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip.

Devastating Toll on Innocent Lives

• In the past hours alone, Israeli forces committed 16 massacres and genocide crimes across Gaza, resulting in the bombing of the Nasser Medical Complex and the tragic death of a child, Donia Abu Mohsen, as she lay on a treatment bed.
• Hospitals are overwhelmed, with 151 martyrs and 313 injuries reported recently, notably in Jabalia, where many victims remain trapped under rubble or on the roads.
• The overall toll of the Israeli aggression has now reached a staggering 19,453 martyrs and 52,286 injuries since October 7th.

Targeting Health Facilities

• Israeli forces continue to deliberately dismantle the health infrastructure in northern Gaza, executing an estimated 800,000 people by destroying hospitals and arresting their staff.
• Hundreds of thousands, including wounded, pregnant women, children, and chronic patients, are left without essential health services in northern Gaza.
• The international community’s silence on Israeli forces’ crimes against northern Gaza hospitals serves as a dangerous precedent for similar actions in southern Gaza, as seen in the targeting of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis twice within 12 hours.

Catastrophic Health Situation

• Hospitals in southern Gaza are grappling with a catastrophic and complex health crisis, lacking the necessary resources to handle the influx of critical patients.
• Operating rooms are overwhelmed, leading to the tragic loss of lives as patients wait for care. An urgent appeal is made for international assistance in providing medicines, medical supplies, fuel, and specialized medical teams.

Systematic Targeting of Health Personnel

• The Israeli occupation has arrested 93 health personnel, including hospital directors, subjecting them to inhumane conditions, torture, starvation, and extreme cold.
• The aggression against the health system has resulted in the death of 310 health personnel and the destruction of 102 ambulances.

Urgent Calls for International Action

• A plea is made for an effective mechanism to evacuate 5,000 wounded individuals for treatment abroad before it is too late.
• Childhood vaccination shortages in Gaza exacerbate the health situation, especially for newborns in displacement centers, calling for immediate action.
• Shelter centers face a dire humanitarian situation with the spread of epidemics, infectious diseases, malnutrition, and lack of healthcare.

Humanitarian Corridor and International Assistance

• Dr. Mads Gilbert urgently calls for the establishment of a safe humanitarian corridor to ensure the flow of medical supplies and fuel to all hospitals in Gaza.
• International institutions are implored to provide the necessary medical needs and fuel urgently for the operation of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the last hope for countless wounded, sick, pregnant women, and children.
• A global appeal is extended to all countries and international institutions to establish field hospitals in northern Gaza, offering a lifeline for the wounded and sick who are currently left without adequate care.

The situation in Gaza is dire, and immediate international action is imperative to prevent further loss of innocent lives and alleviate the immense suffering of the Palestinian people.