ARAB NEWS
JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday
instructed Saudi authorities to supply medicine and medical appliances
worth SR 10 million to support hospitals in Gaza, the Saudi Press Agency
said.
“Efforts are under way to rush this assistance to our brethren in the
Gaza Strip,” said Ahmed Qattan, Saudi ambassador to Egypt and the
Kingdom’s permanent representative at the Arab League.
The World Health Organization said it is working with health partners to
ensure that essential medicines and medical consumables are delivered
to health facilities in Gaza.
“WHO has appealed to the international community for support in
providing essential medical supplies by coordinating donations according
to specific needs,” the organization said in a statement.
The main challenge to Gaza’s health sector before and during the Nov.
14-21 Israeli bombardment was the unavailability of drugs and medical
supplies
“More than 40% of the essential drug items in the essential drug list
and more than 50% of medical consumables were out of stock before and
during the crisis,” the WHO said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported 182 fatalities as a result
of the eight days of Israeli military operation in Gaza; 47 (26%) of
them were children, including 16 under 5, 12 women and 6 elderly above
60. Most of the fatalities (87.9%) had multiple injuries.
