Over 800 Seen in First Week of Health Clinic in Gaza

EMERGENCY has begun health activities in the Gaza Strip in a field clinic set up in the so-called 'humanitarian area' of al-Mawasi, in support of a Palestinian organisation called Culture & Free Thought Association (CFTA).

"While we are waiting to build our own clinic, we decided to work in support of a local, independent non-governmental organisation that has been operating here since 1991 to provide assistance to the Palestinian population on various fronts, from cultural and social initiatives to education and healthcare," explains Stefano Sozza, EMERGENCY's Head of Mission in Gaza. "Our team provides basic healthcare in a field clinic that is located in the so-called humanitarian area of al-Mawasi."

EMERGENCY entered Gaza in August 2024 to offer primary healthcare to the population. Pending the declaration of deconfliction[1] by Israel in order to build its own facility, the NGO is currently working in the field clinic set up by the local association CFTA within the so-called humanitarian area.

"More than 800 patients have already been seen in the first week of operation. On average, we see 160 patients a day," says Giorgio Monti, EMERGENCY's Medical Coordinator in the clinic. "35% of these patients are children. Among the most common pathologies are respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal diseases, chronic diseases and skin diseases. One in ten patients is malnourished."

EMERGENCY's team in Gaza is made up of six people: a mission leader, two nurses, two doctors and a logistician, who work with seven Palestinian colleagues, made up of both medical and non-medical personnel.

In the meantime, EMERGENCY continues to wait for Israel to confirm deconfliction so that it can build its primary healthcare clinic in the Khan Younis area where it can offer first aid, stabilisation of medical-surgical emergencies and transfer to hospital facilities, basic medical-surgical care for adults and children, outpatient reproductive health activities, and post-operative nursing follow-up.

"Since we were able to enter Gaza, we have been working to build and open a clinic to provide primary care to the population, which is operational 24 hours a day," continues Sozza. "The health needs are enormous and the local hospitals that are still operational - only 17 out of 36 facilities throughout the Strip are still, partially, functioning[2] - cannot manage them all. In addition to lacking the necessary staff and medicines, they are often overcrowded because, in the absence of other facilities, the sick also turn to hospitals for needs that could be treated on an outpatient basis. The situation in Gaza is critical and the population is at the end of its tether: there is a lack of health services, a shortage of water, food and housing."

During August, Israel's declared humanitarian area in al-Mawasi had shrunk from 58.9 square kilometres to around 46 square kilometres. It has now been expanded to 68 square kilometres, representing 19% of the Gaza Strip's territory. However, evacuation orders by Israel have not stopped: in total, from October 2023 to 29 October 2024, more than 65 evacuation orders were issued, four of which were subsequently revoked. Currently, approximately 80 per cent of Gaza is under active evacuation orders.[3]

"The al-Mawasi area itself, once a coastal area characterised by the presence of locals and normal daily life, is now a huge expanse of refugee camps where displaced people are camped in tent cities. Here the population lives in difficult conditions with needs touching all aspects of life. From the medical, to the economic, to the social. We continue to call for a ceasefire to guarantee humanitarian aid access to the Strip," Sozza concludes.

[1] Deconfliction means the process of recognition by Israeli armed forces - IDF - that the area is and will be excluded from military activities.
[2] OCHA, Reported impact snapshot | Gaza Strip (5 November 2024), https://www.ochaopt.org/content/reported-impact-snapshot-gaza-strip-5-november-2024
[3] OCHA, Humanitarian Situation Update #233 | Gaza Strip, https://www.ochaopt.org/content/humanitarian-situation-update-233-gaza-strip