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On Wednesday, another heavy blow came to the city in southern Gaza, where widespread starvation is already plaguing the approximately one million Palestinian refugees: Rafah’s largest hospital, al-Najjar, has had to shut down all operations.
“One of three hospitals in Rafah, al-Najjar, is no longer in use due to the ongoing hostilities in its vicinity and the military operation in Rafah,” writes WHO Secretary-General Tedros Ghebreyesus on X, stating that the direct cause is fuel shortages due to the closed borders.
WHO’s warning: The medical device may end
During Tuesday morning, the Israeli military took control of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and blocked supplies to Rafah.
Israel states that it is about cutting off arms deliveries to terrorist-classified Hamas and claimed on Wednesday that it had opened the second major border crossing, Kerem Shalom in southern Israel, for deliveries between the countries.
However, no humanitarian supplies have been let through, nor are there any Palestinians there to receive them, according to the UN, reports AP.
“The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from delivering fuel. Without fuel, all humanitarian efforts cease. Closed borders also impede the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Hospitals in southern Gaza only have three days of fuel left, which means that care may soon end,” writes Ghebreyesus, who ends the post with an exhortation:
“This has to stop now.”
https://twitter.com/DrTedros/status/1788194015931707403
Hospital with 16 beds remains
On Wednesday, al-Najjar hospital director Marwan Homs issued a statement to the UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), reports al-Jazeera.
Marwan Homs confirms the shutdown saying the shutdown is because all staff have been ordered to evacuate the hospital.
– This means that what remains of Rafah’s already overburdened and underfunded healthcare system is Kuwaiti Hospital, an NGO (non-government run) hospital with a capacity of around 16 beds, Marwani Field Hospital which is a trauma stabilization unit and al-Emairati Hospital which is a maternity hospital, says Homs, reports al-Jazeera.
READ MORE: Israel: Has taken control of border crossingREAD MORE: Details: Tanks in RafahREAD MORE: Seven are reported to have been killed in Gaza
