Young men in casual attire, wearing jeans and flip-flops, form a line outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, resembling mourners observing a funeral procession on yet another tense night outside the bustling accident and emergency department.
In the dimly lit surroundings, medical personnel in scrubs stand ready to attend to additional casualties, their voices elevated, and a gathering of concerned individuals grows.
The breakdown of public order becomes evident as people in the area display signs of trauma and exhaustion. The atmosphere is charged with emotion and weariness.
A car arrives with blaring horns and flashing lights, and a young man is swiftly placed on a stretcher, ushered inside for urgent medical attention. Shortly after, another vehicle covered in dust pulls up, revealing a child aged four or five, who, despite the circumstances, manages to walk with assistance.
The healthcare facilities in Khan Younis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip, find themselves overwhelmed following the intensified bombardment by the Israeli air force on the southern region starting last Friday. The situation escalates further as Israeli tanks and troops enter the city, expanding the ground offensive after the collapse of a temporary truce with Hamas.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, the conflict’s resurgence has resulted in the death of at least 1,200 people across the territory. The total casualties in Gaza during the war, triggered by Hamas’s attacks on southern Israel on October 7, now exceed 16,000.
Notably, gunmen affiliated with Hamas, recognized as a proscribed terrorist organization in Israel, the UK, US, and EU, have been responsible for the deaths of at least 1,200 people, in addition to taking more than 240 individuals as hostages back to Gaza.
