Al-Awda Hospital, one of ActionAid’s vital partners, is currently under siege by the Israeli army, resulting in the complete blockade of access to and from the facility. This blockade severely impedes the hospital’s ability to provide essential medical services to the most vulnerable populations in the north of Gaza.
Reports from our colleagues at Al-Awda Hospital highlight the dire consequences of this siege. Previous attacks, including an 18-day siege last December during which three medical personnel were sniped, have forced the hospital to take extreme measures to protect patients and staff. Despite these efforts, the hospital is struggling to meet the urgent medical needs of the community, with 80% of injuries requiring immediate orthopedic intervention.
The capacity of Al-Awda Hospital has been drastically compromised due to the bombing of its accommodation floors, resulting in the deaths of three doctors and the loss of 48 beds. Despite these challenges, 93 medical personnel continue to work tirelessly under extremely difficult conditions.
Dr. Mohammad Salha, acting director of Al-Awda Hospital, reports that the hospital is under siege again by the Israeli military, with shooting and shelling in its vicinity, ambulances unable to leave the hospital, and injured people unable to enter. Al-Awda Hospital is the only hospital in northern Gaza still providing maternity services and orthopaedic surgery services. He describes the emergency situation at Al-Awda, with no remaining fuel or clean water and patients and staff in fear that the hospital will be targeted.
“We were surprised today by the siege of Al-Awda Hospital. [There was] shooting fired in the vicinity of the hospital and many shells.
The ambulances were unable to [leave] the hospital to bring the injured from the field. Al-Awda is the only hospital that provides orthopedic surgery services, and 80% of the injuries are bone injuries and require orthopedic interventions.”
The crisis unfolding at Al-Awda Hospital demands immediate attention and action:
- We urge leaders and governments across the world to leverage their diplomatic influence and take action to address this urgent crisis. Specifically, we call on you to demand an immediate end to the siege imposed on the hospital by the Israeli government, allowing for the free movement of patients, medical staff, and essential medical supplies and fuel.
- Furthermore, we implore leaders and governments to ensure the protection of civilians and medical staff both at Al-Awda Hospital and across Gaza. Swift and decisive action is imperative to alleviate the suffering of those affected by this humanitarian crisis.
The lives and well-being of countless civilians depend on swift and decisive action. We call on you to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza, and we call on leaders across the world to unite in calling for a permanent and immediate ceasefire to stop the suffering of people in Gaza.
ENDS
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Spokespeople are available:
- Niranjali Amerasinghe, Executive Director of ActionAid USA
- Riham Jafari, Coordinator of Advocacy and Communication for ActionAid Palestine
About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.