According to ICRC, International Committee of Red Cross, concrete actions must be taken to preserve access to life- saving and emergency medical care in the Gaza Strip.
To date, the Nasser Medical Complex and the European Gaza Hospital (EGH) – both located in the south of the Gaza Strip – are the only two referral hospitals that provide advanced surgical and medical emergency services with large bed capacities, which is not sufficient for the current wounded and sick across Gaza.
Less than 20% of Gaza’s land, roughly 60 square kilometres, is now refuge to over 1.5 million people.
These people are living in desperate circumstances in the south of the Gaza Strip where the dramatic escalation of the fighting threatens their survival.
“Every hospital in the Gaza Strip is over-crowded and shorten medical supplies, fuel, food, and water.
Many are housing thousands of displaced families. And now two more facilities risk being lost due to the fighting. The cumulative impact on the health system is devastating and urgent action must be taken.” William Schomburg, the head of the ICRC's office in Gaza, declared.
International humanitarian law states that all parties to the conflict must fully respect and protect the medical infrastructure.
The devastating condition of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip is an example of the non-compliance with the rules of international humanitarian law.
Civilians are those who are paying the highest price.
As reported by Amnesty International, the decision taken by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26th January 2024 to order provisional measures in response to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel is an important step that could help protect the Palestinian people in the occupied Gaza Strip from further suffering and irreparable harm.>
ICJ’s decision is an authoritative reminder of the crucial role of international law in preventing genocide and protecting all victims of atrocity crimes.
It sends a clear message that the world will not stand by in silence as Israel pursues a ruthless military campaign to decimate the population of the Gaza Strip and unleash death, horror and suffering against Palestinians on an unprecedented scale,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
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