Gaza hospitals overwhelmed by wounded in Israeli violence: Report | New

A medical aid group said the large number of patients treated for gunshot wounds after months of border protests had overwhelmed Gaza's already fragile health system.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders said on Thursday that thousands of Palestinians wounded by Israeli gunfire during the Great March of Return protests could be contaminated and disabled because Gaza could not be adequately treated.

In total, about 6,000 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli forces during protests that have been taking place along the separation fence since March, according to the Ministry of Health's besieged enclave.

About 1,000 of them have infections that can eventually lead to amputation or even death.

MSF, which has treated thousands of Palestinians since the protests began, saidmost of those wounded by live fire were affected in the legs, often resulting in open fractures prone to infection.

"These many patients would overload the best health care systems in the world, and in Gaza, it's a fatal blow," said MSF head Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, in a statement.

The NGO called on Israel to allow the wounded to leave the blockade area because of the necessary treatment and asked governments to offer medical care to the wounded.

"The alternative – that thousands of patients are left with terrible injuries, many of whom are permanently disabled and family dependent – is inadmissible when adequate treatment is within the reach of the world" , she said.

Collective punishment

Israel is maintaining a strict blockade of Gaza, which it says is needed to isolate Hamas leaders and prevent the group from obtaining weapons or equipment that can be used to make them.

Critics say this equates to a collective punishment of the two million inhabitants.

Demonstrations at the border have been supported by Hamas, with which Israel has waged three wars since 2008. Protesters call on Palestinian refugees to return to their former homes inside Israel.

Since March 30, at least 235 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, mainly by Israeli gunfire in border clashes, as well as by air strikes and tanks.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed during the same period, one by a Palestinian sniper and the other during an Israeli special forces operation in the Gaza Strip.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies