Two major hospitals in Gaza suspend operation as WHO warns of rising deaths

Two major hospitals in Gaza suspend operation as WHO warns of rising deaths

Gaza (Web Desk): Palestinian martyrdom toll has reached 11,100 as Israeli bombardments and armed clashes around the Shifa hospital in Gaza city intensified damaging critical infrastructure, including the oxygen station, water tanks and a well, the cardiovascular facility, and the maternity ward, while killing three nurses.

Gaza death toll has not been updated since Friday, according to the last update, in Gaza at least 11,100 are martyred Including at least 4,506 children and 3,027 women. At least 27,490 are injured Including at least 8,663 children and 6,327 women. 

Meanwhile in Occupied West Bank, at least 183 are martyred Including 44 children and one woman with more than 2,400 injured.

Muhammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza, said on Sunday that the Health Ministry has been unable to update the death toll since Friday as medics are unable to reach areas hit by Israeli bombardment.

UNOCHA confirmed this in its update on Sunday, writing, “On 12 November, for the second consecutive day, following the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north, the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza did not update casualty figures.

Two major hospitals in northern Gaza have closed to new patients amid Israeli airstrikes and heavy fighting around both facilities, as medical staff were left without oxygen, medical supplies or fuel to power incubators.

Intense clashes are continuing around Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, and another major facility, Al-Quds, as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas in the territory.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday that it had managed to contact al-Shifa after three days without electricity, water and functioning internet, and that “the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore”.

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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned of a “dire and perilous” situation in Gaza’s hospitals, saying more patients, including premature babies, are “tragically” dying.

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Twelve patients, including three premature babies, have also died since the start of power outages, while critical infrastructure, including the cardiovascular facility and maternity ward, has been badly damaged, according to the UN agency. 

The patients including 36 babies were at risk of dying due to the lack of functional incubators.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has said the conditions under which civilians are evacuating in the Gaza Strip are “precarious and unsafe”.

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While the death toll in Gaza has not been updated since contact was lost with key hospitals on Friday, in Israel, the death toll from Hamas’s attacks stands at more than 1,200, having been revised downwards.