Gaza - Saba:
Bassam Zaqout, Director of the Medical Relief Society in the Gaza Strip, on Friday confirmed that the systematic targeting and destruction of the health sector in Gaza and the targeting of medical personnel by Israeli enemy forces is one of the phases of the "ground invasion" of the area and an attempt to displace the population.
Zaqout said in a television interview, "The Israeli enemy practically begins its plan by neutralizing most service areas and destroying their vehicles, such as civil defense vehicles and heavy equipment.
This then moves to the next stage, which is targeting hospitals, forcing them to close and rendering them unable to provide services. Then, evacuation orders are issued for the entire area. This is what happened in the southern Gaza Strip and is currently happening in the north."
He added that 75% of the Gaza Strip is either under the complete control of the Israeli army or under evacuation orders, which are monitored by reconnaissance aircraft that bomb anyone moving within these areas. He pointed out that the evacuation orders issued in Gaza City and the north are directed to the known shelters in Gaza City. "We don't know where they are, as there are no shelters in the city, so citizens are sleeping in tents on the streets."
Zaqout pointed out that without security guarantees, hospitals in the Gaza Strip, especially those currently out of service, cannot return. It is essential that the hospital be a safe place so that medical staff can reach it, work there, and transport the injured. He noted that these security guarantees are a global demand, not a Palestinian one. This falls within the framework of international humanitarian law.
He stressed the need to provide these hospitals with operational capacity from available energy, whether from diesel or solar power, to operate equipment, devices, operating rooms, incubators, and dialysis machines that require energy. He noted that the greatest need is for health personnel, which is severely lacking in the Gaza Strip.
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