MAP calls for accountability as Israeli forces bomb Nasser Hospital and escalate annihilation of remaining healthcare services

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) calls for the urgent protection of healthcare facilities and full accountability after the bombing of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis this morning by Israeli forces. The attack struck the hospital’s medical supplies warehouse, likely rendering what little remains unusable, including IV fluids and vital materials provided by MAP.

Nasser Hospital is the backbone of what healthcare remains in southern Gaza, relied upon more than ever since the European Gaza Hospital (EGH) was forced to close by Israeli military attacks last week. Despite this, the hospital has been targeted twice in the last week and, with each assault, risks being shut down entirely, pushing Gaza’s health system closer to total annihilation.

The attack damaged medical supplies essential for lifesaving treatments and is a further violation of international law. It marks yet another assault in Israel’s campaign to systematically dismantle Gaza’s health system.

“We are seeing our work being burnt to ashes,” said a MAP staff member in Gaza, reflecting the despair of those on the frontlines of emergency care.

Fikr Shalltoot, MAP’s Gaza Director, said: “Our team in Gaza have been working tirelessly to get medical supplies to hospitals, and ensure care for those in desperate need, only to see them obliterated by Israeli military strikes. It’s heartbreaking, it’s outrageous, and it must be stopped. How many more hospitals must be destroyed? How many more patients must die in hallways before there is accountability?”

Steve Cutts, MAP’s Interim CEO, said: “The UK cannot continue to sit idly by as war crimes unfold. Access to healthcare is essential to maintaining life in Gaza. Israel’s targeting of hospitals must therefore be seen as part of the plan to force Palestinians from their land. International human rights groups and UN experts have concluded that Israel is committing extermination and genocidal acts in Gaza – will our political leaders continue their complicity and their mouthing of empty words, or will they finally act to put an end to these atrocities?”

At Nasser Hospital, patients are forced to sleep in hallways, with beds scattered across every available space. Six operating theatres are running non-stop, yet the constant influx of casualties far exceeds capacity.

MAP’s team reports that conditions have reached catastrophic levels. The intensive care unit (ICU), designed for 12 patients, now houses more than 24. An emergency extension was created after recent bombings damaged the surgical department, but it fails to meet basic standards. In one horrifying incident, a MAP staff member witnessed a nurse discover that maggots were emerging from a patient’s eyes – an appalling indication of the conditions in the ICU.

Another MAP staff member at Nasser Hospital reported: “Medical teams are working under constant threat. Many are terrified that a ground incursion may be imminent. The psychological and physical toll on staff is enormous.”

The wider assault on Gaza’s hospitals includes the direct targeting of the Indonesian Hospital by quadcopter drones on 18 May. Just last week, Israeli forces bombed a surgical ward at Nasser Hospital, killing two patients. The EGH, which housed the last chemotherapy services in Gaza, was attacked and forced to close on the same day. Forced displacement orders continue to drive thousands from their homes, pushing civilians into zones with no medical support and no safety or shelter from attack.

MAP urgently calls on the UK Government and international community to immediately protect Palestinian healthcare in Gaza, ensure accountability, and end the systematic dismantling of Gaza’s health system. The UK must not be an ally to atrocities.

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