RAMALLAH, Saturday, November 21, 2020 (WAFA) – Fathi Abu Warda, advisor to the Palestinian Minister of Health in Gaza, said today that the besieged Gaza Strip is currently witnessing an unprecedented hike in coronavirus infections, warning that the European Hospital in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip has reached its limit in receiving corona cases.

Abu Warda told the official Voice of Palestine radio that between 50 to 60 patients are currently occupying beds in Gaza’s intensive care units (ICU), out of 100 beds total, and among them young people with no medical history of chronic diseases.

He added that as a result of the rapid increase in coronavirus infections, all scheduled surgeries in the hospitals of the Gaza Strip were suspended due to the emergency situation.

Abu Warda pointed out that within days, two truckloads of urgent medical aid will arrive in the Gaza Strip as part of the efforts to confront the pandemic. The aid includes respirators and special medicines for patients with chronic diseases.

Reports said earlier that Israel has blocked attempts to deliver badly-needed equipment and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, mainly ventilators, in an attempt to blackmail the besieged sea enclave into not firing any make-shirt rockets or incendiary balloons into Israel, as well as providing information on Israeli captives.

M.N./M.K.