The Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza is on the brink of collapse.
The influx of patients means that injured children are forced to lie on the floor. Nails on the walls hold up drip bags.
The Nasser Hospital is described as the last major functioning hospital in southern Gaza.
After the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of areas around the city of Khan Yunis a few days ago, patients and staff were forced to flee from the European Gaza Hospital. Many have taken refuge at the Nasser Hospital.
Now, Doctors Without Borders is sounding the alarm about the situation. The lack of medical equipment is acute, and patients risk being left without life-saving care.
Children on the floor and chairs
The number of patients is increasing every day, which means that all departments at the hospital are overcrowded. The pediatric department has 56 beds, but on July 3, the influx was over 100 patients. In recent days, the orthopedic department has seen the number of patients double.
"We have children lying on the floor. There are no more mattresses and no more beds, so patients are lying on blankets in the corridors and sitting on chairs", says Doctors Without Borders nurse Cristina Roldán in a press release.
"The team has put up nails on the walls so that we can hang up drips and medicine for the patients", she adds.
Months without deliveries
At the same time as the number of patients is increasing, the hospital is lacking fuel. Nearby field hospitals get their medical equipment sterilized at the Nasser Hospital, and if the power goes out due to fuel shortages, sterilization becomes almost impossible – which would also stop care at the field hospitals in the area.
According to Doctors Without Borders, Israel has prevented trucks with medical supplies from crossing the border into Gaza. The organization has not received any deliveries since the end of April, they claim.
Since the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, more than 38,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled area.
