RAFAH: Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilise broken bones.The hospital has expanded to 1,000 beds from its original capacity of 200 to accommodate patients from Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in Khan Younis, which Israeli forces raided last month. There are also an estimated 22,000 people sheltering at the European Gaza Hospital.The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardising patient treatment.”The emergency medical team was organised by Medical Aid for Palestinians, the International Rescue Committee and the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian facilities to shield its fighters and has raided a number of medical facilities since the start of the war. Most of Gaza’s hospitals have been forced to shut down, even as scores are killed and wounded each day in Israeli strikes.International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip—2.3 million people—is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.More than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory, and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.Israel’s offensive has killed over 32,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 74,000, with women and children making up two-thirds of the dead. Experts warn that even more are at risk of dying from disease and starvation.Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.
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