Patients, medics flee major Rafah hospital
Fearful medics and patients are fleeing a hospital in Rafah and transfers of the sick and injured via a border crossing with Egypt are at a standstill due to Israel's military operation, doctors and residents said.
The Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital is located in an area of southern Gaza the Israeli army has designated a combat zone in a conflict that has seen repeated Israeli attacks on hospitals. The World Health Organization warned that only a third of health facilities in Gaza is still operational.
Israel justifies such attacks by saying that Hamas uses them for military purposes - a claim both hospital staff and Hamas deny.
Doctor Marwan al-Hams told Reuters on Tuesday that Israel had put Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital at the centre of the battle field. "Its threats to it resulted in people and patients leaving the hospital," he said, adding that some medical crews had also left.
The dialysis department for patients with kidney disease remained open for now, he added.
World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris warned that its closure would immediately endanger the lives of some 200 dialysis patients since it is the only one in Gaza.
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