Gaza: Al-Awda Hospital in the Gaza Strip has announced an initiative to establish hospitals and primary health care centers throughout the region in response to the severe damage inflicted on the local health system by the recent Israeli military operations. The primary objective is to provide medical care to displaced individuals returning to the northern Gaza Strip.
According to Qatar News Agency, Raafat Majdalawi, the Director General of the Al-Awda Health and Community Association, which manages Al-Awda hospitals, stated that 12 new primary health care centers are set to be established across northern, central, and southern Gaza. This expansion will increase the number of care centers run by the association to 19, aimed at supporting Palestinians and displaced individuals as they return to their homes.
Majdalawi further explained the association’s plans to recommission Al-Hayat Specialized Hospital in Gaza City. This facility will offer a range of primary, secondary, and specialized health services. Additionally, a field hospital focused on maternity and reproductive health services is being planned for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Highlighting the challenges faced, Majdalawi noted that since the beginning of the aggression, Israeli forces have conducted 520 attacks on health facilities in the Gaza Strip, along with 148 attacks on ambulances and 1,000 attacks on health practitioners. These assaults have led to the deaths of 860 health workers and the detention of 262 health staff and 89 patients.
The director underscored the impact of the attacks, stating that 50 percent of Gaza’s hospitals have been destroyed, leaving only 36 partially operational due to significant damage and a lack of medical and logistical supplies. Despite these adversities, the association’s hospitals have continued to fulfill their humanitarian obligations, although their staff and facilities remain vulnerable.
Majdalawi reported that five primary and community healthcare centers belonging to the association were completely destroyed, while three others suffered severe damage. Al-Awda Hospital itself experienced direct and repeated targeting, causing extensive damage in its northern sector, resulting in the deaths of six staff members and the detention of four others, including the hospital’s director, Dr. Ahmad Mahna, who has been held captive for 390 days.
Additional casualties include 36 medical and administrative staff who were injured while on duty. Ambulance teams were targeted 31 times, resulting in four paramedics being wounded, 11 ambulances partially damaged, and one entirely destroyed. Despite these challenges, the hospital continues to collaborate with strategic partners such as the Palestinian Ministry of Health and UNRWA.
