«If there is an Israeli invasion hospitals will collapse» Report, The Electronic Intifada, 31 December 2008
A Palestinian injured by Israeli air strikes in Gaza arrives at Nasser hospital in Cairo, Egypt, 30 December 2008. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages)
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - In Gaza’s main hospital, the director’s office is under virtual siege, according to an IRIN journalist in Gaza. Relatives of the injured are desperate to get their kin transferred to Egypt for emergency treatment. There is a fear here that the already overstretched healthcare system will collapse if Israel mounts a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip, home to 1.5 million Palestinians. As of the night of 30 December the death toll from the Israeli offensive had reached 380, with 1,800 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said 30 children and nine women were among the dead and 250 children had been injured. Fifteen medical patients passed through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt for emergency care on that day, said WHO. 14
Help Gaza