Medical facilities on verge of collapse in Gaza Strip

GAZA/JERUSALEM — Medical facilities are at risk of collapse in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city now at the focus of Israel's offensive, the Gaza Health Ministry warned on Sunday, as fighting raged across the Palestinian enclave.

Residents said Israeli planes and tanks also pounded areas in Gaza City to the north, where Israel has been pulling out troops. The fighting could be heard in the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia.

Israel's military said it was engaged in "intensive battles" in Khan Younis, where it said troops "eliminated terrorists and located large quantities of weapons".

The conflict in Gaza began on Oct 7 when Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israeli bases and towns, killing more than 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages.

The Gaza Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 26,422 since the conflict began.

Palestinian medics and residents said Israel continued to bomb areas around the two main hospitals in Khan Younis, hindering efforts by rescue teams to respond to desperate calls from people caught in the Israeli bombardment.

"There is a complete failure of the healthcare system at Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals," said Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that medical teams at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis would be unable to perform surgeries because oxygen supplies were depleted.

The fighting came as United Nations officials and aid groups urged countries to reconsider their decision to pause funding for the UN refugee agency for Palestinians, a vital source of aid in Gaza.

At least nine countries, including the United States and Britain, have paused funding following allegations by Israel that a dozen of UNRWA's staff members were involved in the Oct 7 Hamas attacks.

Funding pause slammed

Arab countries on Sunday slammed the recent Western suspension of funding for the agency, saying it would further impact the already vulnerable Palestinians.

Warning against the decision as a "collective punishment" on the Palestinians, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in a statement, "This campaign is not new, and the desire to liquidate the work of the agency that serves millions of Palestinian refugees has been repeated in different forms over the past years."

The US decision is unjustified, as it is based merely on allegations at this stage, said Raed Omari, political analyst and a senior political editor at the Jordan Press Foundation.

Meanwhile, talks held on Sunday initiated by Qatar, the US and Egypt to broker a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas were "constructive" but meaningful gaps remain, the Israeli prime minister's office said.

Hamas said on Monday that releasing hostages it is holding would require a guaranteed end to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and the withdrawal of all forces.

Agencies via Xinhua