Latest news with #AbuSalmiya
Days of Palestine
11 hours ago
- General
- Days of Palestine
'Now, not tomorrow': Gaza hospitals plead for immediate blood units
DaysofPal- A severe lack of blood supplies and the increasing number of casualties are causing the Gaza Strip's healthcare system to collapse as a result of Israel's unrelenting attack. Medical professionals across Gaza have issued urgent appeals for the immediate entry of blood units and essential medical equipment, warning that patients are dying daily for lack of basic transfusion support. At the heart of the crisis is al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest and most severely impacted medical facility in the enclave. Its director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, described the situation as catastrophic. 'We are completely unable to provide blood units for the wounded and sick,' said Abu Salmiya. 'Young men and women come to us to donate blood, only to discover that they need blood transfusions due to severe malnutrition.' He stressed the devastating toll this shortage is taking: 'We are losing a large number of wounded people every day due to the lack of blood units, amid a continuous and massive influx of casualties every minute.' 'We are asking nothing from the world except for the immediate entry of blood units into the Gaza Strip … now, not tomorrow.' The situation is no better across other hospitals in the Strip. Sahar Ghanem, director of the Medical Laboratories and Blood Banks Department, reinforced the desperate need for both blood and the equipment necessary to test, store, and transport it. 'We are facing a shortage of blood bank supplies in all hospitals in the Gaza Strip,' Ghanem said. 'Malnutrition has had a significant impact on the number of blood donors, yet people continue to donate whatever they can.' However, the limited pool of donors, many of whom are themselves anemic, has forced hospitals to break international health protocols. 'We're collecting blood even from donors who don't meet the necessary criteria,' she revealed. 'That includes donors who are anemic, which is medically prohibited, but we have no other choice.' She noted that supplies are rapidly consumed across major facilities such as Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Shifa Hospital, and other hospitals still functioning under extreme conditions. Ghanem called for the urgent import of blood units, blood bags, and testing and storage equipment, adding that the health of the population must also be improved through aid and nutrition so that more people can safely donate blood. Abu Salmiya reiterated this call during an interview with Al Jazeera, highlighting that many lives were lost not from the severity of wounds but simply due to the inability to provide transfusions. As the health system in Gaza teeters on the brink of total collapse, the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that among the many people in urgent need of blood were those injured in the recent Israeli massacre in Rafah. At Nasser Hospital, officials issued a call for citizens to donate blood around the clock, stating that the scale of the ongoing Israeli bombardment had caused the facility to nearly run out of blood supplies altogether. Shortlink for this post:
Saba Yemen
3 days ago
- Health
- Saba Yemen
Director of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza: 5 Cancer patients die daily due to Israeli aggression
Gaza – Saba: Director of al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza Mohammed Abu Salmiya on Sunday revealed that 5 cancer patients die daily in their homes due to the lack of medical care as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. Abu Salmiya said in press statements on Sunday, "We are losing many patients and wounded due to the shortage of blood units," according to the Palestinian News Agency (Safa). He pointed out that hospitals are suffering from a shortage of clean water, even in kidney dialysis units. Earlier in the day, the Gaza Municipality stated that with the onset of rising temperatures and the increasing need for water by citizens and displaced persons, the city is experiencing catastrophic conditions due to the Israeli enemy's destruction of approximately 75% of water wells since October 2023, and the lack of fuel needed to operate the remaining wells. Since March 2, the Israeli enemy has closed the Gaza Strip crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation. With American and European support, the Israeli enemy army has been committing genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the martyrdom of 54,418 Palestinian citizens, the majority of whom were children and women, and the injury of 124,190 others. To date, this is a preliminary toll, with thousands of victims still buried under the rubble and on the streets, unable to be reached by ambulances and rescue teams. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Israeli strikes batter Gaza hospitals as brutal siege, bombing intensify
In its latest assault on Gaza's decimated healthcare system, Israel has once again targeted the partially operating Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, this time with drones, as its forces are also carrying out a ground offensive in the north and south of the bombarded territory. Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital in the besieged enclave's north, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that the latest strikes – which have been ongoing since Saturday – indicate that Israeli attacks on Gaza's hospitals are intensifying. 'The medical teams are really suffering, and we have a few numbers of medical teams and staff … and a lot of people are in need [of] more medical care,' Abu Salmiya said by phone from the hospital on Sunday. The Indonesian Hospital is one of the main medical facilities in the north, and now that it's largely out of service, this is severely impacting patients' chances for survival, he said. Thousands of sick and wounded people could die, he warned. Blood donations are urgently needed. This has been underscored by Gaza's Health Ministry, which confirmed that Israeli forces besieged the facility in Beit Lahiya, adding that 'a state of panic and confusion is prevailing'. The ministry later said that Israel had cut off the arrival of patients and staff, 'effectively forcing the hospital out of service'. With 'the shutdown of the Indonesian Hospital, all public hospitals in the North Gaza Governorate are now out of service', it said. Gaza's healthcare facilities have been targeted repeatedly throughout Israel's deadly assault that began 18 months ago. Other facilities in the north that have been bombed, burned, and besieged by the Israeli military since the start of the war include Kamal Adwan Hospital, al-Shifa Hospital, al-Ahli Hospital, and al-Awda Hospital. Dozens of other medical clinics, stations, and vehicles have also come under attack. The targeting of health facilities, medical personnel and patients is considered a war crime under the 1949 Geneva Convention. Israel has also battered several hospitals in Gaza's central and southern areas, including Deir el-Balah's Al-Aqsa Hospital and the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan this week, Israel struck two hospitals in Khan Younis. Nine missiles slammed into and around the courtyard of the European Gaza Hospital, killing at least 16 people, while an attack on the Nasser Medical Complex killed two people, including a wounded journalist. Incessant attacks on Gaza's healthcare sector have left it reeling, devastating its ability to function, while doctors say they are out of medicine to treat routine conditions. Hospitals have also been on the verge of total collapse amid a brutal and ongoing blockade, where Israel continues to bar the entry of much-needed medical supplies, fuel, and other humanitarian aid including food and clean water. The crisis in Gaza has reached one of its darkest periods, humanitarian officials warn, as famine also looms. Israeli air strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians in the last 72 hours. Strikes over the weekend have also put the European Hospital, the only remaining facility providing cancer treatments in Gaza, out of service. Al Jazeera's Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said dozens of Palestinians have been wounded, and doctors say 'they're facing numerous challenges in treating injuries because of a lack of medical supplies'. 'Israeli air strikes in Gaza are still escalating as drones and fighter jets hover in the sky,' Khoudary said. The death toll has reached the same level of intensity as the earliest days of the war, said Emily Tripp, executive director of Airwars, an independent group in London that tracks recent conflicts. She says preliminary data indicate the number of incidents where at least one person was killed or injured by Israeli fire hovered around 700 in April. It's a figure comparable only to October or December 2023 – one of the heaviest periods of bombardment. In the last 10 days of March, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimates, an average of 100 children were killed or maimed by Israeli air strikes every day. Almost 3,000 of the estimated 53,000 killed by Israel since October 7, 2023, have lost their lives since Israel broke a fragile ceasefire on March 18, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Among those killed in recent days include a volunteer pharmacist with the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, who was killed with her family in a strike on Gaza City on May 4. A midwife from Al Awda Health and Community Association was also killed with her family in another strike on May 7. A journalist working for Qatar-based television network Al Araby TV, along with 11 members of his family, was also killed.
Days of Palestine
08-05-2025
- Health
- Days of Palestine
Director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex: Patients Are Dying Before Our Eyes
DaysofPal- The director of Gaza's Al-Shifa Medical Complex has warned that the healthcare system in the besieged enclave is on the brink of total collapse, stressing that hospitals may be forced to shut down within days unless fuel is urgently delivered. In a press statement, Dr. Mohammad Abu Salmiya said healthcare services have effectively collapsed, with medical teams forced to choose between patients due to extreme shortages. 'Patients are dying before our eyes because we simply lack the resources to treat them,' he said. 'Our capabilities are virtually nonexistent,' he added, noting that several people have died because essential care could not be provided. Dr. Abu Salmiya described the health sector's condition as the worst deterioration it has ever faced amid a catastrophic situation. Meanwhile, the deputy coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza echoed the alarm, saying the situation is 'beyond catastrophic.' He highlighted that medical teams struggle to move within the Strip, severely impacting humanitarian operations. He stressed the urgent need to reopen border crossings and allow medical supplies into Gaza. For nearly two months, the Israeli occupation has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid into the Strip. On March 2, it halted all aid through the Kerem Shalom, Erez, and Zikim crossings, bringing the flow of relief materials and fuel to a complete standstill. With unwavering U.S. support, the Israeli occupation has since escalated what Palestinian health officials and rights groups describe as acts of genocide, leaving over 170,000 Palestinians killed or injured—most of them women and children—and more than 11,000 missing under the rubble. Shortlink for this post:
Middle East Eye
18-03-2025
- Health
- Middle East Eye
Al-Shifa Hospital chief says injured people dying in Gaza due to lack of resources
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, director of al-Shifa Hospital, said the hospital is unable to cope with the influx of casualties from Israel's latest air strikes due to a severe shortage of medical supplies. 'Every minute, a wounded person dies due to a lack of resources,' Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera Arabic. He added that only four intensive care beds were available in Gaza City and northern Gaza, with the health system lacking essential supplies. Reaching the targeted areas to rescue victims from under the rubble remains 'extremely difficult,' he said. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has issued an urgent appeal for blood donations after the stocks at local blood banks were depleted.
