Israeli order to evacuate Gaza hospital not logistically possible
Israel has ordered the closure and evacuation of one of the last hospitals still partially functioning on the northern Gaza Strip. According to Middle East Online and Reuters on December 23, 2024, medics have been forced to attempt to find a way to bring staff and patients to safety, despite their assertions that evacuation of the whole hospital may prove a near impossible task.
The head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, has said obeying the shutdown order will prove “next to impossible,” as there are not enough ambulances to evacuate all patients.
There are currently nearly 400 civilians inside the hospital, including babies in the neonatal unit, whose lives depend on oxygen and incubators. This also extends to those on life support, making evacuation without extensive equipment, assistance, and time impossible for the most vulnerable patients in the hospital.
“We are sending this message under heavy bombardment and direct targeting of the fuel tanks, which if hit will cause a large explosion and mass casualties of the civilians inside,” said Safiya.
The Israeli military did not comment on Abu Safiya’s remarks. It said that on December 20, 2024,it had sent fuel and food to the hospital and aided with the evacuation of more than 100 patients and healthcare providers to other Gaza hospitals, in coordination with the Red Cross.
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Abu Safiya stated the military order will mean patients and staff are evacuated to hospitals where conditions are even worse. Photos inside the hospital depicted patients on beds crammed into corridors.
Israel states it is targeting Hamas militants. Israel has been accused of aiming to permanently depopulate the Northern Gaza area in order to create a buffer zone. These claims have been categorically denied by Israel.
Middle East Online, Reuters
