Health situation in Khan Younis in state of catastrophe, says Gaza Health Ministry

The ministry emphasised the significant challenges faced by health teams as they endeavored to treat dozens of critically injured patients despite dire conditions, including shortages in medical supplies and drugs.

23 Jan 2024 04:30pm
People injured in an Israeli bombardment receive medical care at the emergency ward of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Dec 30, 2023. - Photo by AFP
People injured in an Israeli bombardment receive medical care at the emergency ward of the al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Dec 30, 2023. - Photo by AFP

ISTANBUL - The health situation in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip, has reached catastrophic levels under Israeli attacks, with many injured lying in hospital corridors, the Palestinian enclave's Health Ministry said on Monday.

"The health situation in Khan Younis is at an indescribable level of catastrophe. Many injured individuals are lying on the floors of Nasir Hospital," Anadolu Agency (AA) quoted the ministry as saying in a statement.

"The difficulty and delay in transporting the injured to Al-Nasr Hospital are putting their lives in danger," added the statement, providing details on the difficulties faced by healthcare in the area.

It emphasised the significant challenges faced by health teams as they endeavored to treat dozens of critically injured patients despite dire conditions, including shortages in medical supplies and drugs.

The Health Ministry had announced that, as a result of Israeli attacks targeting the areas where uprooted people took refuge, mass graves had been dug in the Al-Nasr Hospital compound, where 40 people were buried.

An AA correspondent in the region had reported that residents in Khan Younis were unable to reach cemeteries due to the heavy bombardment by the Israeli army and were forced to bury their dead in the Al-Nasr Hospital compound.

Gaza's Media Office had earlier stated that Israeli forces targeted five shelters across Khan Younis where 30,000 Palestinians had sought refuge.

The statement stressed that Israel claimed these centers were safe, inviting people to take refuge there, and later carried out attacks targeting them.

It also conveyed that Israel directly targeted Al-Aqsa University, schools, and the Khan Younis industrial Shelter, resulting in numerous casualties. - BERNAMA