GENEVA
\nMothers and newborn babies in Gaza face dire conditions as Nasser hospital in the south of the enclave is overwhelmed with patients fleeing the north and medical resources running out, UNICEF said on Friday.
\n\u201cThe situation for mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been worse. In Nasser hospital, we\u2019re seeing hospital corridors lined with women who\u2019ve just given birth,\u201d UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva via video link from Gaza.
\nThe World Health Organization said on Friday that the health system was on the brink of collapse.
\nDr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO\u2019s representative for the occupied Palestinian Territory said he had never seen Nasser hospital so crowded, as patients flee from Gaza City – which is at the centre of Israel\u2019s expanded military offensive, towards the south of the enclave.
\nIsrael has told the entire million-strong population of Gaza City to head south as it mounts one of the biggest offensives of the war this month, vowing to root out Hamas fighters in what it says are their last bastions in Gaza\u2019s biggest urban area.
\n\u201cEvery corridor you see mattresses and patients on the floor. There\u2019s a huge increase,\u201d Peeperkorn said, adding that a large number of patients are coming from the north.
\nOnly 14 of Gaza\u2019s 36 hospitals remained partly functional, according to the WHO.
\nElder described new mothers and their newborn children lying on the floor in Nasser hospital, and also reported seeing three premature babies sharing a single oxygen source.
\n\u201cThey shared 20 minutes each. The other two children cry while the third child gets that oxygen for 20 minutes,\u201d Elder said.
\nThe WHO says there is a vast shortage of medical supplies.
\n\u201cWe see fast declining shortages of essential items such as dressing kits, gauzes…but also everything relates to blood supplies and transfusion kits,\u201d Peeperkorn said, reporting ongoing problems getting the supplies in.
\nIsrael says there is no quantitative limit on aid entering Gaza and accuses Hamas, which it has been at war with for nearly two years, of stealing aid — accusations the Palestinian militant group denies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA Mothers and newborn babies in Gaza face dire conditions as Nasser hospital in the south of the enclave is overwhelmed with patients fleeing the north and medical resources running out, UNICEF said on Friday. \u201cThe situation for mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been worse. In Nasser hospital, we\u2019re seeing hospital corridors lined […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-506797","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n