Evacuation of Deir al-Balah: Doctors from the Polish Medical Mission Remain in an Empty Hospital
4.09.2024
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4 minutes
The evacuation order from Deir al-Balah has made 89% of the Gaza Strip inaccessible to civilians. Most patients from al-Aqsa Hospital have also been evacuated. Jordanian doctors collaborating with the Polish Medical Mission remain on site with a handful of patients but could be evacuated at any moment. They are treating patients under unimaginable tension.
Since August 16, over 250,000 people have had to leave Deir al-Balah – this is the result of the evacuation order issued by the Israeli army. This city was one of the last places previously considered “safe” for civilians. “We hear from our doctors that some people refuse to evacuate, that they do not want to be moved like objects for the seventh or eighth time during the ten months of this war“ – comments Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart from the Polish Medical Mission. “In the Gaza Strip, it is already difficult to find people who are not refugees.”
89% of the Gaza Strip is now inaccessible to civilians. Al-Mawasi, where they are currently being evacuated, is an area of only 40 square kilometers. There are between 30 000 and 34 000 people per square kilometer there. For comparison – in Warsaw, it’s about 3 300 people per square kilometer. Most of the over 2-million population of the Gaza Strip is trying to find shelter in this small area. The areas where civilians are being evacuated are only safe in name; bombs also fall there, and people are dying. “Attacks often begin before the refugees can even set out on their journey,” adds Małgorzata Olasińska-Chart.
Jordanian doctors collaborating with the Polish Medical Mission currently remain in the al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. They are caring for patients whose condition did not allow for evacuation. Most patients, along with Palestinian medics, have already left the hospital. “Our team can be evacuated at any moment. We work on a system of monthly rotations on site, but we don’t know when the next group of doctors will be able to reach the area. The route from Jordan to the Gaza Strip passes through the West Bank, where attacks have also intensified in recent days, and it is not safe there,” adds Dr. Yaroup Aljouni from the Jordan Health Aid Society, with which the Polish Medical Mission collaborates on site.
The number of Palestinian casualties exceeds 40 000 people, including over 500 healthcare workers. On the Israeli side, there are more than 1 200 victims, mostly those killed in the Hamas attack on October 7. The Polish Medical Mission continues to provide aid in the Gaza Strip. Medical teams co-organized by the Polish Medical Mission and its Jordanian partner, JHAS (Jordan Health Aid Society), are working in the hospital in Deir al-Balah. The doctors go there for monthly rotations, bringing medicines and supporting the daily work of the Palestinian hospital staff.
