The Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza on Saturday announced the start of a 72-hour countdown to the shutdown of health services due to the suspension of the power plant in the Gaza Strip adding that the next hours are critical and tough.
“The power outage poses a serious threat to the services of vital departments in hospitals such as emergency departments intensive care operations dialysis departments laboratories nurseries laundries in addition to oxygen systems and medical gas supplies” the ministry said.
It added that the ongoing closure of the Beit Hanoun checkpoint in front of the movement of patients’ treatment abroad as well as the inability to enter life-saving cases worsens their health state particularly for patients with tumors and heart disease facing an uncertain destiny.
For his part spokesman for the Palestinian ministry of health Ashraf al-Qadra stressed that the Israeli airstrikes target residential areas increasing the number of children women and civilians killed and critically injured.
“We call for supporting the Palestinian health sector and opening the crossings to allow Palestinian patients to be treated abroad” al-Qadra said adding that the Israeli aggression on Gaza must be stopped in addition to facilitating the passage of all medical supplies to the Gaza Strip.
In light of the developments in the field the ministry had announced the suspension of activity in all external clinics and planned surgeries to provide access to emergency operations for victims of continuing Israeli attacks.
For the second day Israel is targeting overcrowded residential areas killing 15 Palestinian civilians including a 5-year-old girl 23-year-old woman and 77-year-old woman and wounding 114 civilians.
