In an attempt to further worsen the health situation, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed a sewage station in Gaza.
The municipality issued a press statement on Saturday stating that the IOF destroyed the B7 sewage station in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza, which serves about 180,000 people in the eastern areas of the city, resulting in sewage overflow in the area which reached the areas adjacent to the station.
30,000 cups of wastewater are supplied to the station daily. The IOF targeted the basic facilities of the station and destroyed them completely, including generators, pumps, and the rest of the facilities in the station.
The areas adjacent to the station will continue to be at great risk should the flow of wastewater continue, and a major health and environmental catastrophe is looming due to the continued flooding of sewage.
The municipality called on international organisations to take an immediate action to save the situation, as Gaza is already experiencing deteriorating health and environmental conditions due to the continued aggression, running out of fuel, and the occupation’s destruction of water and sanitation facilities and infrastructure.
As to the health system in Gaza, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières warned that Nasser Hospital, the largest remaining health facility in the Gaza Strip, can no longer provide vital medical services, with no option for treatment for the wounded.
The organisation expressed its regret that the surgical capacity of Nasser Hospital, the largest health facility in Khan Yunis, south of Gaza, has become “almost nonexistent,” noting that “Between 300 and 350 patients remain at Nasser Hospital, unable to evacuate because it is too dangerous and there are no ambulances.”
Only 8 hospitals in Gaza, out of 36, are still partially operating.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported a “complete power outage” at Nasser Hospital, which led to all medical equipment stopping working, including respirators.
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip; The IOF has been deliberately targeting the health system. According to the latest statistics, 337 health personnel and 45 civil defence personnel were killed. The occupation put 30 hospitals and 53 health centres out of service, partially destroyed 150 health institutions, and completely destroyed 122 ambulances.
The Israeli occupation’s continued targeting of medical personnel and health facilities in the Gaza Strip represents a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, which guarantees protection for health centres and health sector workers.
The attack on medical personnel and the destruction of health facilities leads to additional suffering for civilians in Gaza, especially in light of the difficult health conditions there.
The occupation had cut off all supplies of electricity, water, fuel and food to the residents of the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its aggression, bombed bakeries, factories, stores, water stations and tanks, and destroyed the infrastructure.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and human rights, as it exposes the lives of civilians to extreme danger and causes them great suffering, which requires urgent intervention by the international community to stop the aggression and protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
