Healthcare employees should not be a goal. In gas, their detention and death affect the entire population

AND Freeze the help entering the gauze beltimposed by Israel last week, means again Lots of urgent medical materials and medicines They got stuck on the border and the delivery is uncertain.

But stocks are only one part of the image, and their usefulness is narrow without trained healthcare employees who know how to treat and look after patients.

Healthcare employees are the most essential element of any healthcare system. Despite being protected in accordance with international lawThey were killed and wounded in alarming rates in Gaza from October 7, 2023.

Is also growing evidence inhuman treatment and abuse of healthcare workers in Israeli arrest. This has earnest implications for the health of Palestinians, both in low and long -term.

What is the condition of the healthcare system?

The healthcare system in the Gaza Strip is in ruins. Israeli defense forces conducted at least 670 attacks on health services and facilities from October 7, 2023.

Latest Update of the World Health Organization In February, it was found that only 50% of hospitals operated partly functionally, and 41% of basic healthcare facilities (for example, general practices and pharmacy clinics) was functional.

. The latest report By the United Nations Agency for Aid and Palestine bags, it indicates that only four out of 22 health centers that will launch.

This widespread and systematic destruction health infrastructure and equipment puts healthcare professionals and their patients in direct danger. Deficiencies of medical materials and the lack of reliable electricity and water make healthcare to ensure care for healthcare.

What about healthcare employees?

According to estimates, over 1000 healthcare employees-in this nurses, surgeons and other clinicists, rescuers, pharmacists and technicians-in the last 17 months, died in Palestinian territories United Nations Organization and Palestinian monitoring group Healthcare employees watch.

In September last year UN query found Israeli security forces deliberately killed, wounded, arrested, stopped, incorrectly treated and tortured medical staff and targeted medical vehicles.

Watch the latest report of healthcare professionals documents 384 cases of unlawful detention of healthcare workers in Palestine since the beginning of the current war, 339 from Gaza.

Of these96 presented certificates of inhuman treatment. It is known that at least 185 is stopped and 24 is missing after hospital invasions.

Human Rights Doctors Israel AND The Guardian I also documented the testimonies of medical staff exempt from Israeli detention. Many say that they were detained during the performance of medical duties.

They report that they are subject to interrogations without legal representation, medical neglect and hunger, abuse and torture.

One senior surgeon consultant, Dr. Issam Abu Ajwa, he told journalists from the guardian and Arab reporters of investigative journalism He was arrested while performing the operation and then stopped for months without fees.

He claims that the prison guards received instructions for deliberate damage to his hands: “They said they wanted to make sure that I would never go back to work.”

Israeli defense forces (IDF) did not respond to individual allegations, but said that Guardian “suspected of terrorist activities” were arrested and detained during the fight in the Gaza Strip. In the IDF statement he said: “Those who are not involved in terrorist activities are released as soon as possible back to the Gaza Strip.”

High UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk he said Israel’s statements are used for military purposes, are unclear, unfounded, and “in some cases they seem to be contrary to publicly available information.”

What does this mean for people in gas?

Before October 7, the Gaza Health Care System was no longer able to meet the needs of its population. Escalation of these needs due to bombing and reducing sanitary conditions in Broken healthcare system is catastrophic.

The loss of healthcare workers-no matter how they are killed, wounded or imprisoned-additionally exhausted the overloaded system. As a result, ordinary people have reduced access to qualified and qualified staff. Like younger medical staff, which means that they miss the possibilities of learning from the experience of older employees.

All residents of Gaza, including healthcare employees and their families, encounter earnest Threats to their health. Lack of adequate sanitary conditions, nutritious foods and protected water, other problems, such as increased risk of respiratory and diarrhea, as well as complications during pregnancy and delivery.

UN star 50,000 women are currently pregnant in the Gaza Stripfrom about 5500, which is born in the next month. About 1,400 of them will require a imperial section.

What about long -term?

Israel Freeze humanitarian aidand The threat of renewing air bombingsIt makes planning and providing health services more and more tough.

In the population 2.1 million There are high unmet needs Previously existing conditions. The UN estimates that 45,000 people in gas have heart disease, 650,000 have high blood pressure, every year cancer has been diagnosed, and over 485,000 have mental illness.

As a result of the war, many other diseases will appear. We have already seen the revival of polio in gas.

Without a sufficient number of healthcare professionals, it reduces the ability to supervise and control public health – for example, routine screening services and vaccination programs – which increases the risk of diseases.

Healthcare employees also play an essential role in training the next generation of healthcare professionals. Disruption of this chain makes it tough to rebuild your health force and healthcare system more generally.

The influence of war cannot simply be calculated in terms of fatalities, injuries and damaged centers or healthcare facilities.

Joint involvement in humanitarian principles and respect for human and international rights is also damaged.