Patients, wounded facing dire conditions in N. Gaza: health minister

RAMALLAH/GAZA, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) — Palestinian Health Minister Majid Abu Ramadan warned Saturday that patients, the wounded, and healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip are facing extremely critical conditions as the Israeli war continues for the 379th consecutive day.
Two patients died on Saturday due to the Israeli siege on the Indonesian Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, compounded by power outages and a lack of essential medical supplies, said Abu Ramadan in a statement.
He urged the international community to protect those enduring dire circumstances and to pressure an end to the Israeli “aggression” against Gaza.
Earlier Saturday, Gaza-based health authorities said that the Israeli army has enforced a severe blockade on hospitals in northern Gaza since midnight, with the Indonesian Hospital bombed and the Al-Awda Hospital and the Kamal Adwan Hospital under simultaneous siege.
The power outages at the Indonesian Hospital coincided with the ongoing blockade, which has prevented the technical crew from accessing the generators, the authorities said.
They warned that the situation in Gaza hospitals is catastrophic, calling the Israeli army committing one “massacre” after another in northern Gaza while deliberately crippling the healthcare system.
Also on Saturday, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement that northern Gaza is experiencing a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law and all international treaties and norms.”
The “atrocity” being perpetrated by the Israeli army in northern Gaza is beyond description, he said, holding the United States and all other countries supporting Israel in its war against the Palestinian people fully responsible.
Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza has risen to 42,519, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the latest UN data, at least 75,000 people were displaced between Oct. 5 and 15 in Gaza, mostly within the north. ■