The Nasser Medical Complex, once the largest hospital in southern Gaza, has faced unimaginable challenges during the ongoing conflict in the occupied Palestinian Territory. On 14 February, the hospital was shelled by Israeli forces after a week-long siege, causing extensive damage to the buildings and vital equipment, rendering it non-operational. This has had severe implications for Gaza's health system and compromised patient care. WHO-led missions worked tirelessly to evacuate critical patients amidst active conflict, highlighting the urgency of the situation.
Photo © WHO Nasser Hospital after raid in February 2024
More than two months after the attack on the medical complex, Health cluster partners have initiated actions to restore the health services at Nasser Hospital. Following a meeting that the Health Cluster coordinated at the Ministry of Health on 20 April 2024, five health partners will focus on restoring the most critical and core health services at the Nasser Medical Complex, such as the emergency department, maternity department including neonatal ICU, ICU and Medicine department, surgical unit /old MSF building, central pharmacy/warehouse, and mortuary.
Photo © WHO Destruction inside Nasser Hospital in Gaza's Khan Younis.
Restoration of services will take place in operational phases agreed upon within the consortium of health partners according to humanitarian need, medical efficacy, cost-effectiveness, and the ability to obtain and sustain relevant supplies, equipment, and hospital staff.
Photo ©WHO Inside Nasser Medical Complex as clean up begins
The first phase will focus on cleaning the hospital premises and departments, restoring the sewage system, fencing the emergency department for future crowd control, checking the functionality of medical equipment, and construction/renovation of the warehouse. The second phase includes assigning departments in alignment with the humanitarian agencies' capacities, identifying human resources per department, providing fuel, pharmaceutical supplies and medical commodities, and establishing a referral pathway.
On 24 April, WHO, Health Cluster, UNFPA, MSF-Spain, Save the Children, MAP-UK, and UK-Med conducted an assessment to assess hospital readiness to manage cases and hospital needs in terms of medical supplies and to evaluate the status of completion of phase 1. Fuel was supplied to enable the cleaning and disinfection of hospital departments and the testing of medical equipment. Health partners are collaborating to ensure that phase 2 of the restoration of life-saving health services can be carried out in the days ahead.