95% of Gaza’s Shifa Hospital completely destroyed: health official

Destruction at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, has exceeded 95 per cent due to the Israeli genocide, a Palestinian health official said yesterday according to Anadolu.

Munir Al-Bursh, director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Anadolu that the Israeli occupation army “destroyed over 95 per cent of the buildings and equipment at Al-Shifa Medical Complex during the months of the genocide.”

Despite the destruction, the complex continues to provide partial services to residents in the parts of the building that have been rehabilitated, he said.

The ministry, Al-Bursh continued, “repaired the old, dilapidated outpatient clinic building, which was abandoned before the war, and turned it into a reception and emergency department.”

Approximately 30 beds have been provided for patient care, while the rear section of the destroyed dialysis unit has partially resumed operations.

He highlighted “significant challenges facing medical teams in Gaza City amid the destruction of the health system and shortages of medicines and medical supplies.”

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More than 60 per cent of the required medicines are lacking in Gaza, while 80 per cent of medical supplies are unavailable.

Regarding the shortage, he said: “Since the start of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, quantities of medicines and medical supplies have entered through the Erez [Beit Hanoun] and Zikim crossings, but they are far from sufficient.”

“The need for medicines and supplies is enormous, and what arrives is a very small percentage of what is required.”

“With the return of displaced Palestinians from the southern and central areas…the demand for medicines and medical supplies has increased,” he said.

“The challenge is immense, and we urgently need a swift supply of medicines, infrastructure repairs, hospital rebuilding and equipment replacement.”

In 2020, the hospital provided treatment services to 460,000 Palestinians and emergency services to about 250,000 and carried out 25,000 surgeries, 69 dialysis sessions and 13,000 childbirths.

During the months of the genocide, the Israeli army repeatedly stormed Al-Shifa Hospital, destroying and burning its buildings.

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