The hospital, one of the largest in the Strip, transfers its 320 patients to the overwhelmed Nasser Medical Complex
3 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the government of the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), have denounced this Tuesday an order issued by the Israeli Army to completely evacuate the European Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, one of the largest in the enclave, and which has already transferred its 320 patients to the Nasser Medical Complex, in the same city and which is at maximum capacity.
“The Israeli occupation’s forcing of the European Hospital in eastern Khan Younis to evacuate and put out of service is a humanitarian disaster that aggravates the health crisis in the Gaza Strip in an unprecedented way, and endangers the lives of thousands of patients and wounded. Once again, the Israeli occupation army is committing a historic crime,” the Gazan government’s media office said on its Telegram channel.
In this regard, he said that the Israeli attacks have already put out of service 34 of the 36 hospitals in the Palestinian enclave, and that the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in the centre is serving twice its capacity, “enormously” increasing the pressure on the medical staff.
The Gazan authorities have also denounced that this evacuation is taking place “in full view of the whole world” and without anyone “lifting a finger to stop this massacre.”
“We affirm that the failure of the international community to take a firm and decisive stand against the assault on hospitals, taking them out of service and targeting them with bombs and missiles is what has encouraged the occupation to continue its crimes against the health sector, which has gone so far as to execute more than 500 medical personnel and detain 310 of them so far,” the statement continued.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the European Hospital “is now completely empty” after moving its 320 patients to the Nasser Medical Complex, both a short distance away.
“Thanks to UN partners, three trucks with medical supplies have also been moved from the hospital. WHO plans to remove the remaining equipment as soon as possible. It is devastating to see the 650-bed hospital out of service at a time when access to healthcare is urgently needed,” he wrote on his social media account X.
The WHO chief also said that the Nasser Medical Complex is “at full capacity with more than 350 patients admitted” and is suffering from “shortages of medical supplies.” “The European Hospital in Gaza, one of the largest referral hospitals in the south, must be protected and put into operation immediately. Gaza cannot afford to lose more hospitals. Ceasefire!” he added.
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