Gaza Health Ministry urges reactivation of closed Nasser Hospital

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Gaza-based Health Ministry urged Monday to reopen Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, after it was taken out of service by the Israeli army.

In a statement, the ministry called on all international and humanitarian institutions to make efforts to reactivate the hospital and provide protection for healthcare institutions.

The closure of the facility is a blow to healthcare services, which have already been reduced to their lowest levels, depriving patients of access to medical services, the statement added.

The Israeli army took out of commission the hospital last February in a military raid inside it, resulting in destruction, casualties, injuries, and detainees.

Israel has been accused of destroying the healthcare sector to exacerbate the suffering of around 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas which killed some 1,200 people.

Nearly 32,800 Palestinians have since been killed and 75,300 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Israel has imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which on Thursday asked Israel to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio.