to report «iusnews»; Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Mai Al-Kaila blamed Israel for killing 28 health care workers and damaging medical centers in a statement on Saturday.
"On the eighth day of the ongoing Israeli aggression, 15 medical centers have been damaged due to Israeli bombardment, and Beit Hanoun Hospital and Al-Durrah Children's Hospital have stopped providing services," Al-Kaila said, according to CNN.
"28 healthcare workers have been martyred, and dozens have been injured, and 23 ambulances have been damaged and rendered inoperable," Al-Kaila added.
Al-Kaila urged all international human rights organizations to provide urgent protection for hospitals, treatment centers, ambulances, health personnel and the sick and wounded who are exposed daily to bombings.
Al-Kaila also pointed out "the Israeli occupation forces daily threaten to evacuate hospitals in the Gaza Strip, which is a clear threat to the lives of hundreds of patients and wounded individuals".
The minister also said Al-Durrah Children's Hospital was evacuated Friday after being targeted with internationally prohibited white phosphorus bombs, and Beit Hanoun Hospital has also ceased operations due to Israeli bombardment.
Hospitals in Gaza are facing unprecedented challenges as they struggle to manage the influx of casualties from the ongoing conflict, forcing the treatment of some patients in hallways and hospital courtyards.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Saturday Gaza hospitals have “started to lose their clinical, pharmaceutical, and fuel capacities”.
Dr. Ashraf Alqudera, spokesperson for the ministry in the Gaza Strip, said health facilities in the area have been "targeted", noting medical crews still "did not leave their positions".
“We have a moral and human responsibility to treat the wounded and sick under all circumstances,” Alqudera said, adding, “We appeal to all parties to speed up the entrance of medical supplies to hospitals before it's too late.”
At Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza, the hospital is on the brink of a medical crisis due to power outages, relying on a generator with only one to two days of fuel left, according to the director of the syndicate of nurses, Dr. Khalil Al-Dekran. Without electricity, all emergency room and surgical operations will halt.
More than 1,300 individuals have been injured, and 350 — including elders and children lost their lives. Notably, a significant number of the injured "sustained head wounds" Al-Dekran said in a video message sent to CNN on Saturday from the hospital.
Further complicating the medical situation, Al-Dekran echoed Alqudera's claim, saying ambulances are being targeted by Israeli airstrikes, hampering the efforts to transfer patients between medical facilities.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday the health ministry in Gaza will not leave its hospitals "even if they are demolished over our heads".
The ministry was responding to the Israel Defense Forces' warning to some 1.1 million Northern Gaza residents to evacuate as it prepares to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.
The World Health Organization has said Israel's call amounts to "a death sentence for the sick and injured" at Gaza City's crowded hospitals.
"We will not respond to Israeli threats to evacuate hospitals, and our moral stance requires us to continue our work," Ministry Spokesperson Al-Qidra said.
Al-Qidra said the ministry demands the opening of a safe passage to let patients and the wounded out of the Gaza Strip, and to let aid, medical supplies and fuel in.
