Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
WHO Says No Hospital In Gaza Is Able To Deliver Critical Care
None of Gaza鈥檚 36 hospitals are functional enough to treat critical trauma cases or perform surgery, the World Health Organization said on Monday, even as the number of people needing urgent medical treatment was rising daily among the enclave鈥檚 population of 2.2 million. (Fassihi, 11/21)
Indonesia鈥檚 foreign minister condemned on Tuesday an attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip as a 鈥渧iolation of international humanitarian law鈥 and called on other nations to step up pressure on Israel. The attack on the Indonesian Hospital killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens, according to two members of the hospital staff and the Gaza health ministry, which blamed Israel. The hospital, which was built with Indonesia鈥檚 funds and advocacy, was hit around 2:30 a.m. on Monday after Israeli tanks had drawn closer to the compound, a nurse and a hospital administrator said. The source of the strike could not be independently verified. (Wee, 11/21)
The World Health Organization told the Reuters news agency that 28 babies were transferred to Egypt, but three remained at a maternity hospital in southern Gaza where they were being treated for "serious infections." Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, a doctor at Al-Shifa, said eight of the infants brought out of the hospital 鈥 which the World Health Organization described as a "death zone" after weeks caught in the middle of the Israel-Hamas war 鈥 did not survive the desperate conditions at the facility before they could be transferred. (Luciano, Redman, and Reals, 11/20)