UN relief agencies operating in war-torn Gaza voiced deep
frustration on Tuesday over continuing aid access restrictions
placed on them by the Israeli military, after ambulances carrying
patients away from a stricken hospital at the weekend were
stopped for several hours while health workers were searched and
detained.
“This is not an isolated incident. Aid convoys have come
under fire and are systematically denied access
to people in need,” said the UN Humanitarian
Country Team in Palestine, after the mission to evacuate 24
patients from Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.
The development came amid continued intense fighting across the
enclave, sparked by Hamas-led terror attacks in Israel on 7
October in which some 1,200 people were massacred and more than
250 taken hostage.
Amid repeated international calls for a ceasefire, negotiations
have continued between the Israeli authorities and Hamas
representatives for the release of the hostages and Palestinian
prisoners held in Israel. To date, nearly 30,000 Gazans have been
killed, the majority women and children, according to Gaza’s
health authority.
Out of action
Several patients "if not all of them” required some kind of
surgical intervention “which of course could not happen at Al
Amal Hospital”, said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid
coordination office, OCHA. Thirty-one
non-critical patients had to be left behind.
Speaking in Geneva, Mr. Laerke confirmed that the evacuation
mission had been flagged to the Israeli
authorities who had acknowledged this notification as
part of standard deconfliction protocols.
But, the Israeli military had not given “any information
or any communication” about why the ambulances were
detained for at least seven hours nor why the paramedics
“had been taken out, forced to undress”, with two still not
freed, Mr. Laerke said.
Mission of mercy
The development involved a UN World Health Organization (WHO)-led convoy on Sunday to
Al Amal Hospital. Once there, UN-partner the Palestine Red
Crescent Society (PCRS) evacuated 24 patients, including a
pregnant woman, a mother and a newborn.
The hospital – a PCRS-run facility - has been at the centre of
military operations in the southern Gazan city for over a month,
sustaining 40 attacks between 22 January and 22
February which left at least 25 dead and health
workers too scared to leave the medical compound for weeks, the
UN country team said in a statement.
Willing to work
Today in Gaza, only 12 of its 36 hospitals are “partially
functioning”, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told
journalists in Geneva – “six in the south and six in the north
(but) 23 hospitals are not functioning at
all”.
An additional 15 emergency medical teams have also deployed in
the south of Gaza with four field hospitals with a combined
capacity of 305 beds, Mr. Lindmeier continued. “These are
important pockets of help but of course, it would be more
important to get the Gaza health system back up on its feet and
get all those healthcare workers which are there and trained and
they are even under these circumstances, ready to work - into a
position and able to work.”
Beating the odds
On Saturday, a UN relief mission to Al Amal successfully
delivered desperately needed medical supplies, medication and
antibiotics, along with some food, water and fuel for the
generators.
“The health workers confirmed that they were able to step outside
the hospital buildings within the compound on Saturday, after a
month inside,” WHO reported. “They were afraid
for their lives, since there was fighting around the area and the
hospital had been hit numerous times.”
Pre-war, the hospital had 100 beds and focused on maternal and
child health with some capacity to address basic surgical and
internal medicine needs, along with specialized rehabilitation
services. But destruction caused by the bombing of the
third floor decreased the capacity to an estimated 60
beds.
Six UN entities participated in the operation which delivered
enough supplies to treat 50 trauma patients: WHO, the UN aid
coordination office (OCHA), the UN agency for Palestinian
refugees (UNRWA), the UN population fund (UNFPA), the UN landmine
relief agency (UNMAS) and the UN Department for Safety and
Security (UNDSS).
