Red Cross opens field hospital in Rafah

Gaza, May 15 (IANS) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has announced the opening of a field hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip with a capacity of 60 beds.In a statement on Tuesday, it said that the field hospital aims to complement and support the work of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to meet the enormous health needs in Gaza.The hospital team will consist of approximately 30 medical workers, providing emergency surgical care, maternal and child health care, neonatal care, pediatric services, and outpatient clinics, with the capacity to manage mass casualties, assess and triage the injured, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the statement.The field hospital, operated by the ICRC in coordination with local and international Red Cross societies, will be able to provide medical care for approximately 200 people daily."No patient should be killed while on a hospital bed, and no doctor, nurse, or any medical worker should lose their life while working to save others," the ICRC said, calling for the protection of medical facilities under international humanitarian law.According to the World Health Organization, 23 out of 39 hospitals in Gaza are out of service.--IANSint/sha

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