The WHO said the lives of many critically ill and fragile patients “hang in the balance”.
As the Israel-Palestine conflict rages, scorched patches of ground, charred vehicles, dead bodies and destroyed houses have become common scenes in the war-torn area. Journalists, who are providing on-ground coverage, become a witness to the situation and provide updates to their viewers. Sometimes, these situations can cause mental and emotional turmoil to them. Recently, a video of a journalist reporting from Central Gaza went viral on the internet. She broke down in tears while reporting outside a hospital where several people had been injured.
A correspondent of China Global Television Network, Noor Harazeen, broke down on live television as she reported from outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital where “the numbers (of injured) are going up by the hour.” Ms Harazeen appeared distressed in the now-viral footage while describing the situation of the women and children who are caught in the middle of the crisis. In the background, one can witness people rushing inside the hospital and incoming ambulances “full of children”. The journalist said that the situation is “undescribable” and looks like a “massacre”.
In the video, she said, “I have been reporting escalations on Gaza for years now and have not witnessed anything like that.”
The anchor asksed Ms Harazeen “to take a deep breath and stay safe”. She further asked her to seek shelter if she did not feel safe in the streets.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Saturday that forcing thousands of hospital patients to evacuate to already overflowing hospitals in the southern Gaza Strip could be “tantamount to a death sentence”. Israel has warned Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive against Hamas, one week after the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
“WHO strongly condemns Israel’s repeated orders for the evacuation of 22 hospitals treating more than 2,000 inpatients in northern Gaza. The forced evacuation of patients and health workers will further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe,” the UN health agency said in a statement.
Moving 2,000 patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence,” the WHO added.
The organisation said the lives of many critically ill and fragile patients now “hang in the balance”. It referred to people in intensive care or relying on life support, newborns in incubators, patients undergoing haemodialysis and women with pregnancy complications. They and others “all face imminent deterioration of their condition or death if they are forced to move and are cut off from life-saving medical attention while being evacuated”, the WHO said.