Aid groups describe 'unimaginable' situation after visiting packed Gaza hospital

Aid groups that visited a packed Gaza hospital described an “unimaginable” situation in which large open wounds were left untreated.

An emergency medical team organized by three aid groups spent two weeks carrying out surgeries and other care at the European Gaza Hospital near Khan Younis. The southern city has seen heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants since the start of the year.

In a statement released Monday, the team said healthcare workers had been forced to evacuate or were unable to access the hospital. It said Israeli restrictions had led to shortages of medical supplies, including basics like gauze and plates and screws used to stabilize broken bones.

The visiting surgeons “reported large infected open wounds on patients and having to administer emergency nutritional supplies to patients as the lack of food was jeopardizing patient treatment.”

International aid officials say the entire population of the Gaza Strip — 2.3 million people — is suffering from food insecurity and that famine is imminent in the hard-hit north.

More than 32,000 people have been killed in the territory, and more than 74,000 wounded, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its counts. It says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Some 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 when Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack out of Gaza, triggering the war, and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 Israelis hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others.