Injured people are trapped inside complex amid continued bombardment, health workers say
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Mass graves were being dug around Gaza’s Al Nasser medical complex on Monday as Israeli tanks advanced towards the hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, trapping thousands of Palestinians.
Health workers told media they were overwhelmed by the number of patients and bodies and had few medical supplies left to treat those suffering.
“The hospital is full of martyrs, and they have started burying them in mass graves within the hospital,” said Ahmed El Madhoun, a resident of southern Gaza.
Al Nasser Hospital is one of the last medical centres in operation in Gaza, albeit under difficult conditions as Israeli forces continue to bombard the area.
“We are currently trapped inside the hospital and tanks are nearby. There are dozens of martyrs and injured in the streets. Ambulances cannot reach them,” Mr El Madhoun said.
During the past 24 hours, at least 50 people have died in Khan Younis and more than 100 were injured, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
Doctors at the hospital have refused to leave despite the danger from Israeli fire.
Israeli officials have accused Hamas fighters of operating from Al Nasser Hospital, which staff deny. Two thirds of Gaza’s hospitals have ceased functioning after Israeli attacks and losing Al Nasser would curtail the limited trauma care still available.
“I will not leave the hospital and my patients,” Mannar Fayad, an anesthesia and resuscitation specialist at the hospital, told media on Monday.
Ms Fayad said she was panicking as Israeli tanks moved closer to the hospital. “I’m thinking of our fate if the Israeli forces invade the hospital – are they going to arrest us, or kill us as they did in other hospitals,” she said.
Ahmed Al Moghrabi, the head of the Burns and Plastic Surgery department at Al Nasser, told media the situation inside the hospital was becoming more challenging, with increasing pressure on health workers.
“Last night was particularly difficult due to heavy Israeli air strikes in the southern part of the hospital, many people started to flee,” he said.
“We are facing a significant challenge with the limited number of medical staff who have chosen to stay.”
It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said on Monday that Israeli forces were “besieging the ambulance centre [in Khan Younis] and targeting anyone attempting to move in the area”.
The PRCS said ambulances were unable to reach the injured in the ciyty. Staff in Jerusalem were able to briefly establish contact with their Khan Younis team on Monday afternoon but remain “extremely concerned” as bombing and tanks move closer.
“Cellphone, landlines and Wi-Fi are all down. This is the 11th day of a complete blackout. The only means of communication is via VHS radio but this is not stable,” PRCS spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh told media.
“We are extremely worried for the safety our our team at Al Amal and the headquarters. Everyone is trapped. No one is able to move.”
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