Supply shortages and patient influxes leave Nasser hospital at breaking point

“We have children lying on the floor. There are no more mattresses and no more beds, so patients are in the corridors lying on blankets and sitting on stairs,” says MSF nurse activity manager Cristina Roldán. “The team has put nails on the wall so we can hang the intravenous fluid and medication bags we need to give patients, but it’s a very difficult situation, and the team is exhausted.”  

On 1 July, following evacuation orders by Israeli forces for the areas east and south of Khan Younis, the Ministry of Health decided to evacuate the European Gaza hospital as a precaution. Patients were transported in ambulances from the European Gaza hospital to Nasser hospital, but many were forced to leave and walk some 10 kilometres to get there. Approximately 250,000 people are at risk of displacement in Khan Younis, due to the evacuation order.

“We have heard that patients have travelled on their own, either arriving at Nasser hospital having been pushed there in hospital beds or having walked with the help of their families,” says Dr Javid Abdelmoneim, MSF medical team leader working in Nasser hospital.