From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
WHO says it transferred 32 critical patients from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis
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The World Health Organization says it has completed a second evacuation mission from Gaza’s Nasser Hospital, transferring a total of 32 critical patients including children from the site amid fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas operatives.
WHO staff say the destruction around the hospital is “indescribable” and voice concerns for an estimated 130 sick and injured patients and 15 medics who remain inside.
“WHO fears for the safety and well-being of the patients and health workers remaining in the hospital and warns that further disruption to lifesaving care for the sick and injured would lead to more deaths,” the WHO says on the social media site X.
Efforts to transfer the remaining patients are continuing, it says.
The site has no electricity or running water and medical waste and garbage are “creating a breeding ground for disease,” it says.
Troops entered the hospital building on Thursday after surrounding it for a week, saying they had information that hostages had been held there and that some bodies of dead hostages may still be at the site.
At least one released hostage has said that she and over two dozen other captives had been held inside the hospital.
Soldiers found mortars, grenades, and other weaponry belonging to Hamas inside the medical facility, along with the medications with the names of hostages on them.
The Times of Israel Community.