Belgium will send €1 million in medical aid to Gaza by the end of this month, Minister for Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez has revealed.
"Currently, 75% of hospitals [in Gaza] are unable to operate," she said. "In northern Gaza, only one hospital out of 24 is still functioning and there is hardly any medication left. Many doctors, nurses, and other aid workers are injured, missing, or deceased."
"Due to fuel and power scarcity, surgeons are forced to operate with the light of their mobile phones or torches. Ambulances cannot move," she added.
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The medical supplies, which will be provided by Belgium's Ministry of Public Health, will be transported by plane from Ostend to El Arish, a city in the north of Egypt's Sinai Peninsula located just an hour's drive away from the Rafah crossing into Gaza. They will be delivered in cooperation with the Red Cross as well as the Egyptian Government.
The aid will aim to address medical shortages previously detailed by the Egyptian authorities. It will include surgical instruments, orthopaedic equipment (e.g. wheelchairs and crutches), medicine, and supplies for patients with respiratory problems.
