Questo è il rapporto quotidiano emesso dall’ufficio di Gerusalemme dell’Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanità. Numeri freddi, certo. Con un pizzico di fantasia, si può però ricostruire un pezzo di vita, dalle parti di Gaza City.
On 15 January three health facilities were hit by direct or indirect fire. These were the:
1. Al-Quds Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) Hospital in south Gaza City, which the MoH [Ministry of Health] said was hit by direct Israeli fire. Soldiers surrounded the hospital during the early hours of 15 January and opened fire on the hospital compound. The administrative building and pharmacy adjacent to the hospital were hit and caught fire. Fearing an imminent explosion or the spread of the fire, hospital authorities evacuated all patients to the hospital’s ground floor and prepared for a complete evacuation. At least 50 patients, 20 of whom were confined to their beds, waited several hours to be evacuated. Fire-fighters and ambulances were prevented from being able to evacuate the patients until around 13:00. The fire was extinguished and patients began evacuating the hospital. No further information was available.
The PRCS is the recognized Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Gaza and is an internationally recognized organization with medical functions. It is the operational partner of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this humanitarian operation, and a member of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
2. Al Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital in east Gaza City came under fire and its eastern wall was severely damaged. It has a bed capacity of 52 and has 75 staff. No further information was immediately available.
3. Al Fata (Wia’m) Hospital in west Gaza City was damaged by indirect fire. Its windows were smashed, infrastructure damaged and one ambulance destroyed. All patients were evacuated.
The MoH health information centre in Gaza reports that since 27 December, 2008:
– 16 ambulances have been damaged;
– 16 health facilities have been damaged through direct or indirect shelling.