Healthcare system “on the edge of collapsing” as Palestine Red Crescent Society expand provision of lifesaving care

UK public donations are providing a lifeline to people as a new fleet of ambulances enters service ready to help those most in need. 

Amid ongoing humanitarian challenges, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is working tirelessly to provide emergency medical care, set up field hospitals, and restore damaged clinics.  

The Rafah border crossing has reopened to medical evacuees with the Palestine Red Crescent Society supporting the safe transfer of patients within Gaza. On the other side of the border, the Egyptian Red Crescent is working closely with authorities to provide support to patients and their families, such as psychological and practical support.  

As people continue to return home in parts of Northern Gaza, the humanitarian picture is bleak. PRCS teams on the ground are reporting that many are wounded and injured. After 15 months, many are suffering from malnutrition and chronic health conditions, which are being exacerbated by the absence of a functioning healthcare system.   

In the West Bank, PRCS emergency health teams are responding to an increasing number of calls. Thanks to the generosity of the British public, these efforts will now be bolstered by the introduction of a new fleet of 10 ambulances, offering a lifeline to communities. 

Mohammed Abu Mosbeh, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Head of Emergency Medical Services in Gaza on medical evacuations: 

“For the past eight months patients and critically wounded were not able to leave Gaza because of the closure of Rafah crossing, only a few cancer patients were allowed to leave Gaza via Kerem Shalom border. The wounded are now being allowed to be evacuated for treatment but the number remains very few compared to the number of those waiting. The estimation is between 12,000 to 15,000 people need to be urgently evacuated for medical treatment but the daily average for people leaving since the Rafah border reopened is 50 people. The Palestine Red Crescent Society role is to transfer the patients and wounded who can not walk. We work in coordination with the WHO to facilitate the transfer of the critically injured. PRCS is the only partner available to transfer patients who need to be transferred by ambulance.

We need to be evacuating more people because their lives are in danger the longer they go without treatment. We need more ambulances to facilitate the evacuation of more patients. We also need to receive more fuel and items to repair damaged ambulances so we can facilitate more evacuations.” 

Nebal Farsakh, Palestine Red Crescent Society spokesperson on current state of healthcare system:

“The healthcare system is on the edge of collapsing. In Gaza only 18 hospitals out of 36 are partially functional. This is impacting patients who have chronic diseases, children with respiratory diseases and ongoing traumas from the conflict, along with infectious disease spreading at a record high during the past month.  

Now we need to focus our efforts to get these hospitals back in service to bring life and hope to the Gaza Strip and to the people there.” 

Gabriel Karlsson, Middle East Manager for the British Red Cross in the West Bank on expanded fleet of ambulances: 

“This new fleet of ambulances is going to be critical in providing emergency medical care to people in dire need. Each one is a four-wheel drive, which means teams can get to remote parts of the West Bank that regular vehicles can’t. Just the sight of our ambulances arriving is sure to bring a wave of hope and relief.”

ENDS

British Red Cross

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