“Catastrophic Situation”: North Gaza’s Public Hospitals Out of Service Due to Israeli Attacks

Gaza (Quds News Network)- All public hospitals in North Gaza are out of service following relentless Israeli attacks on medical facilities in the area, the Palestinian Health Ministry announced on Sunday.

This follows Israel’s targeting and besieging of the Indonesian Hospital—the only functional medical facility in the area—since this morning.

“A state of panic and confusion has prevailed among patients, the wounded, and medical staff, hindering the provision of emergency healthcare,” the Health Ministry said this morning following the Israeli attack on the hospital.

It added that two patients were injured while trying to leave the hospital, adding that the Israeli siege prevents wounded people from reaching the hospital amid ongoing killings.

Marwan Al-Sultan, Director of the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza, reported that the facility is under total siege, with gunfire directed at anyone who moves. He added the Israeli forces have attacked the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Al-Sultan said the situation is “catastrophic, and several hospital staff members have lost family members.”

Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, Director General of Hospitals, stated that Israel is “deliberately killing the wounded by blocking their access to hospitals and directly targeting patients, the injured, and medical teams inside the facilities.”

In a statement to Al Jazeera, he said:

• Israeli drones opened fire directly at the intensive care unit in the Indonesian Hospital.
• Four patients are currently being treated in the ICU, while two others urgently need intensive care—but it is no longer possible to provide them with proper treatment.
• Al-Awda Hospital has been hit by shelling and drone fire, endangering the lives of patients, the wounded, and medical staff.
• The European Gaza Hospital was struck by 14 missiles, destroying its infrastructure and oxygen lines, severely complicating any effort to restore its operation.
• The occupation continues to block the entry of foreign medical delegations who are essential for performing specialized and complex surgeries for the wounded.
• Intensive care, surgical, and emergency departments are operating under catastrophic conditions due to a severe shortage of life-saving medications and medical supplies.
• The prevention of food supplies and the spread of famine have led to the deaths of 57 children, with increasing cases of immune deficiency and chronic diarrhea among children.

Israel is intensifying its systematic campaign to target hospitals. Israeli attacks have also put the European Hospital in Khan Younis out of service last week.