The word "catastrophe" to describe Gaza has been used so many times in 104 days of war that it has lost the force of its meaning.
With between 24,000 and 27,000 Palestinian deaths since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began, those who can still speak from the Strip cannot find any other way:
"The situation is catastrophic,"
says a doctor from an overflowing hospital.
The United Nations, however, was able to go further and affirm, this Thursday, that
"the situation has gone from being catastrophic to being on the brink of collapse."
During a visit on Tuesday to Nasser's hospital (which is currently the largest functioning health center in Gaza), the head of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) mission in Palestine, Leo Cans, declared that Nasser was
functioning at 300%. its capacity
: "The situation is catastrophic. There are too many patients for the staff."
MSF staff check a patient's wounds at the Al-Shaboura clinic, Rafah, Gaza.
Photo: Mohammad Abed
According to a surgeon, during the night from Monday to Tuesday, Israeli forces intensively bombed the area near the hospital
without a prior evacuation order
, causing the patients and many of the thousands of displaced civilians who had taken refuge in Nasser to flee in terror.
"The fighting is very close to us. We hear a lot of bombing and shooting," Cans declared during his visit to the hospital.
"Yesterday (Monday), there was an airstrike 150 meters from the hospital entrance that
killed eight people and injured more than 80.
"
At Nasser Hospital, MSF provides emergency care and surgical treatment to patients, including those suffering from traumatic injuries and severe burns.
But activities have slowed considerably since December due to intense shelling around the centre.
MSF has been insistently calling for the protection of its staff and patients.
"We ask that all medical facilities be protected and that access and provision of health care to both civilians and humanitarian workers not be hindered," they stated in a statement to which Clarín had access.
United Nations: "On the brink of collapse"
Several representatives of the United Nations describe in the Gaza Strip a situation of extreme need for the civilian population,
with 1.9 million displaced
, food shortages and sick children.
"Since my last visit, the situation has gone from being catastrophic to being on the verge of collapse,"
Ted Chaiban, deputy executive director of Unicef,
said in a statement this Thursday after a three-day visit to the Palestinian enclave.
Chaiban said that there are more than 1.9 million displaced people, which is almost
equivalent to 85% of the population
of Gaza and said that many are trying to find shelter in Rafah (southern border area with Egypt), where
countless plastic tents are crowded. improvised ones
that can accommodate up to 20 people.
An MSF doctor treats a child at the Al-Shaboura clinic in Rafah, southern Gaza.
Photo: Mohammad Abed
"It is difficult to understand the enormous mass of civilians on the border and
the inhumane conditions in which they live.
Water is scarce and poor sanitation is inevitable," Chaiban said.
According to figures shared by the organization, in the last two months
cases of diarrhea increased by 40%
compared to before the escalation of hostilities.
But in mid-December an increase of 4,000% was reached, with 71,000 cases registered
among children under five years of age.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) described how one of its schools in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah has become a shelter for many displaced people.
Smoke rises from a ruined Gaza.
Photo: AP
"The
overcrowding was claustrophobic and the dirt was surprising
. I heard stories of women who preferred not to eat or drink water to avoid having to use unsanitary bathrooms," said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, in a statement, who also denounced
"the prolonged and repeated telecommunications blackouts.
Seventh day without internet or communications
This Thursday, the Gaza Strip suffers its seventh consecutive day of telephone and internet outages, which according to the Gazan authorities could increase the number of fatalities, since
the emergency health services do not have the means to communicate
and be able to help the injured. .
The total number of deaths is unknown due to the blackout of communication networks, but as of this Wednesday there were 24,450 dead and more than 61,500 injured since the beginning of the conflict on October 7;
70% of them children and women
Israel blows up Al Israa university
Among its latest operations, the Israeli Army has exploded the main building of the Al Israa University in Gaza, which was destroyed, reported the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
In the midst of the general devastation after 104 days of Israeli offensive, which resulted in the destruction of most of the university infrastructure in the Strip, Israeli forces used explosives to demolish the building, in the south of Gaza City, which housed
postgraduate studies, faculties and a national museum
.
In turn, as cited by Wafa, Al Israa University denounced in a statement that the soldiers "looted" the museum, where there was a voluminous exhibition "that included some
3,000 rare artifacts
. "
EFE consulted a spokesperson for the Israeli Army about the matter without obtaining a response at the moment.
With information from EFE and MSF