The ministry said that Israel’s “continued deliberate violations” against health institutions have led to the shutdown of the hospitals, “leaving only Tal Al-Sultan Maternity Hospital struggling to continue providing services to patients in Rafah Governorate.”
Only one hospital remains operational in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, while all other hospitals have ceased operations amid the Israeli offensive in the city, the Health Ministry has said.
“In light of the ongoing and expanding brutal Israeli incursion in Rafah, and its deliberate targeting of numerous hospitals and primary care centers in the governorate, … the situation has led to the initial shutdown of Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital, Abu Al-Walid Central Clinic, Rafah Field Hospital (2), and Kuwait Specialty Hospital,” the Healthy Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
The ministry said that Israel’s “continued deliberate violations … against health institutions” have led to the shutdown of the hospitals, “leaving only Tal Al-Sultan Maternity Hospital struggling to continue providing services to patients in Rafah Governorate.”
‘Heinous Crime’ – Hamas Condemns Israeli Bombing of Displacement Camp in Rafah
The ministry reiterated its call “to all international and UN institutions to provide protection for all hospitals, health workers, and ambulances from the oppression and arrogance of the Israeli occupation.”
Israeli tanks reached the center of Rafah on Tuesday amid its ground offensive on the city, where more than 1.5 million displaced people have sheltered.
On Sunday, Israeli aircraft used missiles and 2,000-pound bombs to strike several tents in the area, killing at least 45 Palestinians, including women and children.
The missile strike caused a fire to spread rapidly through the camp which was supposed to be a safe zone, burning people alive. Footage showed charred bodies, as well as a man holding a beheaded baby as screams were heard all around him.
Rafah Massacre – Israel Targets Camp for Displaced Palestinians
‘Hell on Earth’
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said images from the attack “are testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth.”
Lazzarini said UNRWA is doing “everything possible” not to interrupt the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
“But with every day passing, providing assistance & protection becomes nearly impossible,” he stressed.
“Of the 200 trucks with humanitarian supplies offloaded on the Palestinian side yesterday (Sunday), only 30 trucks were picked up due to heavy movement restrictions + ongoing Israeli Forces airstrikes + the launch of rockets by Hamas + delays & limitations on the routes that can be used,” added Lazzarini.
These are all additional challenges and restrictions “that do not allow us to distribute aid”, he said, adding that they “further strangle the humanitarian operation on which 2 million people across Gaza depend.”
The scenes coming out of #Rafah last night are harrowing.
Reports of more casualties continue to come in following an Israeli airstrike on a heavily populated area northwest of Rafah.
Children and women living in tented plastic makeshift shelters are among the killed. Many were…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 27, 2024
Over 36,000 Killed
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 36,096 Palestinians have been killed, and 81,136 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
Genocide Continues – Civilian Toll Rises as Israeli Forces Intensify Bombardment in Rafah, Gaza
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(PC, Anadolu)
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