“Only four medical staff” are left to look after the patients inside the hospital in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, the ministry's spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told Reuters on Sunday.

The World Health Organization's chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospital was not operational due to the Israeli regime’s weeklong blockade and ongoing raid.

“Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement on X.

He said about 200 patients were still in the hospital and at least 20 of them urgently needed to be transferred to other hospitals for treatment.

“Medical referral is every patient’s right. The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives. Access to the patients and hospital should be facilitated,” he added.

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The Nasser Hospital was the biggest functioning medical facility in Gaza and one of the many health centers that Israel has attacked.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the occupation regime’s strikes have killed at least 127 people in the last 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 28,985 since October 7.

It also said 68,883 people have been injured by the Israeli brutal campaign in Gaza. It said that the Israeli forces have been blocking the ambulance and civil defence teams from reaching the wounded and the trapped people. It said the regime had committed "13 massacres" against Gaza's families.

The high toll on civilians comes as the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Jagan Chapagain, said the health situation in Gaza was extremely dire and the gap between the needs and the available support was growing.

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He said many people in need of essential medical services were not getting them because of the crisis.

“Civilian population in Gaza have suffered enough, and healthcare stands as one of the last remaining beacons of hope,” Chapagain said on X.

“I remind all parties that the right to access healthcare must be upheld even in times of conflict. Once again, I call for safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers so they can continue their life-saving work,” he added.

Source: Agencies