Israel-Hamas Conflict: Australian Medics Part Of New Red Cross Hospital Staff In Rafah

The International Red Cross and partners are opening a hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, in response to the deteriorating health situation caused by the continuous Israeli bombardment.

Australian medics will reportedly staff the facility to reduce the "overwhelming" burden on the territory's healthcare system. Currently, two Australians are working at the hospital and three more are planned to be added to the staff that will take care of about 200 people per day.

The situation in Gaza has dramatically worsened in the wake of the deepening Israeli offensive. There have been reports of helicopter strikes and street fighting breaking out in Rafah. The city is being overrun by hundreds of thousands of civilians who are escaping the fierce conflict.

Health clinics are closing due to the unrest, while medical personnel and patients are leaving large hospitals. Israel's assault on Gaza's heavily populated southern sector has intensified, displacing countless people and worsening the already severe humanitarian situation, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"People in Gaza are struggling to access the medical care they urgently need due, in part, to the overwhelming demands for health services and the reduced number of functioning health facilities," the International Committee of the Red Cross told the Jerusalem Post. "Doctors and nurses have been working around the clock, but their capacity has been stretched beyond its limit."

Rafah's field hospital provides pediatric, obstetric, emergency surgery, and outpatient treatment to 200 patients per day. Gaza's population rose to 1.5 million during the fighting, but 500,000 left after IDF threats, clogging roads. The acute shortages of essentials are made worse by attacks on assistance convoys. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is getting worse as 23 of the 39 hospitals are closed because of damaged infrastructure.

The hospital will be supplied with sufficient medical supplies by the International Red Cross, and physicians, nurses, and equipment are being sent by Red Cross organizations from Canada, Germany, Norway, and Japan.