From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 20, 2023
Medical supplies for Jordan’s second field hospital in Gaza enter the Strip
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A field hospital accompanied by 170 personnel sent by Jordan has entered the Gaza Strip, the second one since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Mohammed Zaqout, director-general of Gaza hospitals, says the new field hospital will be established in Khan Younis, in the south, “to receive the wounded and the sick.”
The field hospital has a 41-bed capacity, the Jordanian royal palace says, and Aed Yaghi, head of medical aid in Gaza, says it was accompanied by 170 personnel and 40 trucks of medical aid.
It will help ease the pressure on existing health services, he tells AFP, adding: “The number of medical personnel is limited and there aren’t (enough) ambulances.”
Palestinian medics hope field hospitals sent by the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will soon follow.
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel last week that Turkey is also in talks to establish a field hospital.
The official added that Israel is pushing for the establishment of alternative hospitals to existing ones in Gaza, which Hamas has been using for terror operations.
Hospitals in the area were experiencing “catastrophic” conditions, Zaqout says, “with the influx of hundreds of wounded each day.”
They could no longer accept sick patients or women who needed to give birth by Caesarean section, he adds.
There are around 30,000 wounded people across Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The Times of Israel Community.