Israel is tearing down Gaza's healthcare system

Amid the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, brought upon by a belligerent Israeli government, major hospitals in the enclave are increasingly unable to treat the many patients coming in daily, as Israel is targeting these facilities, weaponising allegations of them being centres for Hamas fighters. It is shocking that despite the global outcry, the healthcare system of a country is being decimated right before our eyes, with no repercussions whatsoever. With more than 11,000 already dead—40 percent of whom are children—how many more innocents must face meaningless deaths or succumb to injuries without treatment?

According to news reports, thousands of Palestinians were trapped in these facilities with little means of medical care. As the bombs keep dropping on Gaza, the question is where will those who survive the onslaught go to treat their wounds. It almost seems like Israel's goal is to ensure that people have no option for treatment. As per Gaza officials, hundreds of patients at al-Shifa Hospital were at risk, as Israeli forces are forcibly evicting the injured onto streets. Six premature babies and nine patients have died at the facility, amid fuel shortages and intense fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters. Meanwhile, al-Quds Hospital, where hundreds of patients stayed trapped and 14,000 were sheltering, has effectively shut down due to lack of fuel, electricity, medicine, food and water. Even the sole medical centre for paediatric cancer, al-Rantisi Specialized Hospital for Children, was not spared, as Israeli forces destroyed its ground floor.

Overall, 23 of Gaza's 35 hospitals have reportedly stopped operating. According to UN agencies, there have been 137 attacks on healthcare facilities in Gaza since the fighting began, resulting in 521 people killed and 686 others injured; 16 healthcare workers have been killed and 38 injured while on duty. If Israel continues its offence, there just might be no one/facility left to provide care in Gaza.

Not that there has been no push against it from global leaders, however ineffective. Amid calls by UN agencies for decisive international action and immediate ceasefire, some EU countries are against Israeli aggression, a prime example being the French president who stated that Israel is killing women and children. Yet, Benjamin Netanyahu has shown little to no sign of considering humanitarian pleas, one major reason being the overwhelming military, financial and diplomatic backing of the US. But given the present state of Gaza, it is imperative that world powers, especially the US, take meaningful rather than symbolic actions to stop what it is evidently a textbook example of genocide.