LOC00:52
21:52 GMT
GAZA, Dec 20 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti Specialized Field Hospital in Gaza announced Saturday the suspension of all scheduled and emergency surgeries due to a lack of resources.
In a statement, the hospital administration said the suspension was a result of a severe shortage of essential medical supplies, primarily anesthesia, intravenous fluids, sterilization materials and supplies, and surgical instruments.
This shortage is exacerbated by the continued closure of crossings and the Israeli occupation's prevention of the entry of medicines and medical equipment.
The administration warned that the hospital could cease operations entirely, posing a direct threat to the lives of patients and the wounded, and representing a dangerous indicator of the imminent collapse of the entire healthcare system under unprecedented and catastrophic conditions.
The statement also noted that the hospital's departments are experiencing a backlog of hundreds of patients on waiting lists across various medical specialties.
Such measure also means that thousands of patients and the wounded are being deprived of their right to healthcare and the high-quality medical services the hospital provides, further compounding the health and humanitarian crisis faced by displaced people in Gaza, the statement said.
The hospital has been providing healthcare services to thousands of displaced people in the outskirts of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip since its main facility in Rafah, also in the southern Gaza Strip, was destroyed in previous months.
Health authorities in Gaza report that more than 1,000 Palestinians have died since the start of the war due to a lack of medicine and limited resources in hospitals.
The Israeli occupation forces are preventing approximately 18,000 sick and wounded Palestinians from receiving treatment outside the Gaza Strip because of their decision to close the Rafah border crossing. (end)
wab.mb