Mai Alkaila, Palestinian Minister of Health, said that the Israeli occupation is committing genocide against the entire healthcare system.
Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai Alkaila, said on Saturday that the Israeli occupation is committing genocide against the entire healthcare system in the Gaza Strip, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Speaking at a press conference held at the ministry’s headquarters in Ramallah, Alkaila called on the United Nations, international health organizations, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to exert pressure on Israel to allow the transport of the remaining children and patients from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza to hospitals in the West Bank or Egypt.
Alkaila held Israeli authorities fully responsible for their lives.
🚨UPDATE: According to the Director of the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, more than 500 hundred patients, including 300 wounded, are still inside the hospital. https://t.co/yTkPfJlyyq
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 18, 2023
“How long hospitals, patients, and medical teams in Gaza and the West Bank would remain hostages to the onslaught, destruction, targeting, and blockade by the Israeli occupation forces without accountability or condemnation from the international community?” she questioned.
Alkaila highlighted that no hospital in Gaza has the capacity to accommodate the massive number of wounded under nonstop Israeli bombardment.
“Where is the stance of doctors and healthcare professionals worldwide regarding the atrocities committed against their colleagues in the Palestinian healthcare sector in Gaza and the West Bank?” Alkaila addressed the global health community.
PALESTINIAN HEALTH MINISTER MAI AL-KAILA: Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai Al-Kaila, called for allowing premature babies to be transferred from Al-Shifa Medical Complex to hospitals in the West Bank or Egypt.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 18, 2023
The minister expressed concern over the spread of numerous infectious diseases, including diarrheal diseases affecting over 50,000 individuals, predominantly children. Respiratory infections and skin diseases such as chickenpox and scabies have also surged in Gaza, she added, citing reports from the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
Alkaila called for an immediate cessation of the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, demanding a halt to the targeting, shelling, and blockade of medical and healthcare facilities.
(WAFA, PC)
