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Gaza hospitals, already under pressure, struggle to absorb wounded demonstrators

Gaza hospitals, already under pressure, struggle to absorb wounded demonstrators

Introduction:

UN agencies and their partners are supporting hospitals and health centres in Gaza as they struggle to treat scores of people injured on Monday during demonstrations at the border with Israel.

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, who spent most of that day at a major hospital, said facilities were “overwhelmed” by the numbers in need of emergency treatment.

Palestinians have been demonstrating against the long-standing blockade on Gaza and Israeli occupation for weeks, but Monday marked the deadliest day of protest, with 58 killed and more than 1,300 injured.

Mr. McGoldrick told Dianne Penn that hospitals there, which he described as already “under serious pressure” due to the blockade, were simply overrun with the large number of wounded.

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UN agencies and their partners are supporting hospitals and health centres in Gaza as they struggle to treat scores of people injured on Monday during demonstrations at the border with Israel.

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, who spent most of that day at a major hospital, told Dianne Penn that hospitals were “overwhelmed” by the numbers in need of emergency treatment.

Audio Credit
Dianne Penn, UN News
Audio
7'9"
Photo Credit
OCHA/Mustafa El Halabi