healthcare in gaza today;

On August 21, the Israeli army ordered different areas in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, to evacuate their homes and newly-erected tents. This was the first step in the army’s invasion and campaign of destruction in Deir al-Balah, the last town that has not been completely leveled throughout the war. 

One of the blocks ordered to evacuate included the last fully operational hospital in central and southern Gaza, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, the governmental hospital has been working at four times its capacity, hosting over 700 patients.

As the military order spread among people in the area, dozens of doctors and nurses evacuated too, knowing what would likely happen to anyone in the hospital who remained, with the horrors of the massacres and mass graves at al-Shifa Hospital and Nasser Hospital still fresh in their minds. 

But there are others working in the hospital who have refused to evacuate under any circumstances, intent on remaining to care for the patients that keep streaming in.

Mondoweiss spoke to several doctors at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital who refused to abandon their posts when the Israeli army ordered the evacuation. They preferred not to be identified and have been given pseudonyms in this story due to their fear of reprisal by the military. Based on numerous past experiences throughout the war, they believe that the Israeli army has been deliberately targeting doctors and hospital staff who refuse to adhere to evacuation orders. During the second invasion of al-Shifa Hospital in March, medical workers were singled out for killings and arrests and the Director of al-Shifa was sent to the notorious Sde Teiman torture facility, only to be released in late June with no charges. .........more........