– Zaina Aman
10 January 2024
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have reported that a majority of medical staff as well as 600 patients from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Central Gaza have been forced to leave the area to unknown locations with no information.
It is also reported that intense bombing has driven many to seek medical help at Al-Aqsa Hospital because a large number of people of all ages are being treated on blood-streaked floors and in chaotic corridors, also not having enough medical resources. Al-Aqsa is the most important hospital remaining in Gaza’s Middle Area, so it must remain functional. UN-WHO team also distributed medical supplies and beds for dialysis and trauma patients this Sunday.
But because of these conditions, Palestinians are desperate to leave Gaza through Egypt which has long resisted opening the Rafah crossing, fearing millions of people would flee into the neighbouring Sinai Peninsula.
Furthermore, Palestinians even have to pay bribes to brokers of up to $10,000 to help them exit the territory, according to Guardian investigation reports.
According to UN reports, 85% of Gaza’s population is now displaced. The broker network across the Rafah border has been operated for years but has surged since the start of the war and is increasing day by day. Because of very few ways to get out of Gaza, Gazans have no choice left but to put their trust in brokers and this way people are making money out of the misery of Palestinians.
