Amid Israel Onslaught, Gaza Health Conditions 'Disastrous'

Health officials in the embattled Gaza Strip speak of "disastrous" hospital conditions amid an ongoing Israeli offensive, now in its third week, which – along with leaving hundreds of Gazan dead – has caused severe shortages of medical supplies.



"The Health Ministry was already suffering an unprecedented shortage of medical supplies before the offensive began," Ashraf Abu Mahadi, top pharmacist at the Health Ministry in Gaza, told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.



"Now our situation is harder than ever, with rising numbers of injuries from these barbaric Israeli attacks," he said.



Abu Mahadi said the government was facing dangerously low levels of supplies for emergency rooms and surgery and intensive care units, as the number of dead and injured – already in the thousands – continued to rise.



"Supplies of critical medicine are now at an all-time low, with hundreds of injuries arriving at hospitals on a daily basis, especially within the last few days," he said.



According to Mahadi, Gaza hospitals are now suffering a 45-percent shortage of emergency supplies, a 55 percent shortage of medical equipment, and a 28 percent shortage of needed medicine.



"At this rate, all our reserves will run out within a few days if the Israeli offensive continues," he asserted, warning of a "humanitarian disaster" that will threaten the lives of hundreds of badly injured Gazans.



For the past three weeks, Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip – already groaning under a seven-year embargo –by air, land and sea.



At least 797 Palestinians have been killed – mostly civilians – and 4633 injured since July 7, when Israel launched its "Operation Protective Edge" with the stated aim of staunching rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.



The Palestinian Health Ministry earlier warned of a "genuine disaster" in Gaza, home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, due to its inability to cope with rising casualties.



"The seriousness and complexity of some injuries, which appear to have been caused by internationally-banned weapons, has exhausted our medical supplies," Abu Mahadi said.



-Targeting hospitals-



Two hospitals in the Gaza Strip were targeted by Israeli forces last week, according to Abdel-Latif al-Haj, the Health Ministry's director of hospitals. 



"Entire hospital floors have been destroyed by Israel, which has further complicated the situation," al-Haj said.



On Monday, Israel shelled the Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip's Deir al-Balah city, leaving four Palestinians dead and 20 others injured – including both medics and patients, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.



Israeli tanks also struck the Beit Hanoun Hospital on Friday, destroying the hospital's pediatric and administrative wings, according to al-Haj.



"We are operating under extraordinary pressure," al-Haj said. "We need to perform dozens of surgeries every day, but we have neither the operating rooms nor the medical equipment to cope with incoming cases."



According to official Israeli figures, 34 Israelis – 32 soldiers and two civilians – have been killed since hostilities began more than two weeks ago.



Israel's "Operation Protective Edge" is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populated Gaza Strip, which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians, within the last six years.



In 2008/09, over 1500 Palestinians were killed and 500 injured – the vast majority of them civilians – during Israel's three-week-long "Operation Cast Lead."



By Hedaya al-Saidi



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze