Gaza hospitals overwhelmed with dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment
- Health facilities struggle to handle casualties of war
- Gaza’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, already slow, has stopped
The Gaza Strip’s already feeble health system is being brought to its knees by the fourth war in just over a decade.
Hospitals have been overwhelmed with waves of dead and wounded from Israel’s bombardment. Many vital medicines are rapidly running out in the tiny, blockaded coastal territory, as is fuel to keep electricity going.
Two of Gaza’s most prominent doctors, including the No 2 in Gaza’s coronavirus task force, were killed when their homes were destroyed during barrages since fighting between Hamas and Israel erupted 10 days ago.
Just as Gaza was climbing out of a second wave of coronavirus infections, its only virus testing lab was damaged by an air strike and has been shut. Health officials fear further outbreaks among tens of thousands of displaced residents crowded into makeshift shelters after fleeing massive barrages.
At one UN-run school where 1,400 people were taking shelter, Nawal al-Danaf and her five children were crammed into a single classroom with five other families. Blankets draped over cords criss-crossed the room to carve out sleeping spaces.
“The school is safe from the war, but when it comes to corona, with five families in a room, everyone infects each other,” said al-Danaf, who fled Israeli tank shelling on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya a few days ago.