Crisis Deepens: Gaza’s Primary Hospital “Nasser” Ceases Function
Gaza’s hospitals have been a focal target during the devastating 4-month-old genocide, and today, the biggest one, Khan Younis’ Nasser, took a final bout.
What’s considered Gaza’s largest still functioning hospital has fallen victim to the devastating genocide and today ceases to function following a severe Israeli raid. On Thursday, the IDF infiltrated the complex because of their adamant belief that these hospitals are being used as the main headquarters for Hamas.
Even before the IDF infiltration, the hospital was a place of refuge for thousands of patients suffering from war wounds. The issue was that there was no power, and the hospital was too short-staffed to treat all the patients.
Along with that, the hospital’s water supply halted because of how the generators weren’t working for three days. Emergency rooms were flooded by sewage water, leaving the remaining staff unable to treat intensive care patients. Officially, there are still 200 patients inside the hospital, 20 of whom need to be urgently transferred elsewhere.
All these conditions, coupled with the IDF attack on the hospital, led the WHO to make the final conclusion that it was “not functional anymore.” The WHO team have been unable to enter the hospital on both Friday and Saturday. This means that they were unable to “assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, posted on X.
Beyond the hospital itself, another major on-ground assault is expected to take place in the Southern city of Rafah, home to over two million displaced Palestinians.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz threatened that Israel would launch a ground invasion on Rafah if the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas aren’t released by the beginning of Ramadan.
Today, all eyes are on Rafah, as the world awaits with caution for the possible attack and the fate of Palestinian people.