News Desk |
Qatar opened up its first prosthetic hospital and a disability rehab centre in the Gaza Strip on Monday, 12th May, overcoming obstacles that delayed the much-needed project in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
According to international press, Rafat Lubad, the local director of the hospital, said the facilities are more essential now than ever as more than 130 Palestinians have had amputations over the past year after being shot by Israeli soldiers during protests along the Gaza-Israel perimeter fence.
Eventually, the Qatar Fund for Development assumed the operational expenses – Hamas health officials declined to reveal how much – and trained 150 medical staff locally and abroad to run the hospital, allowing for its opening.
A Palestinian protest movement has demanded an end to the crippling 12-year blockade that has pushed the Gaza Strip’s medical system to the breaking point.
Khalifa bin Jassim Al-Kuwari, Director General of QFFD, said that; “ Providing support to the Arab World, and especially to the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, has always been a top priority for Qatar. This hospital for rehabilitation and artificial limbs aims to provide treatment to Palestinian patients suffering from limb amputation to help them get back to normal life. The population needs this kind of support to live a decent life, especially in light of the difficult living conditions and the challenges they are facing in accessing treatment services.”
The ceremony was attended by the Vice-Chairman of Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza KhaiId Al Hardan, Undersecretary of the Palestinian Ministry of Health Dr Yousef Abu Rish, Director-General of the Hospital Dr Raafat Labad, and Head of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) sub-delegation in Gaza, Gilan Devorn, in addition to the participation of members of the Legislative Council, leaders of the Palestinian national labor, heads of trade unions and a QFFD delegation.
Read more: Qatar comes to aid of resource deficient Palestinian government
A Palestinian protest movement has demanded an end to the crippling 12-year blockade that has pushed the Gaza Strip’s medical system to the breaking point.
Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza to isolate Hamas, and the PA has cut back its spending on the territory of two million people to force Hamas into ceding control.