U.S. medical volunteers in Rafah hospital say they've never seen a worse health crisis

[WhiskeyGrinder]

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2024/05/10/1250490688/rafa-hospital-gaza-israel-war-middle-east

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"Unfortunately here I have to prioritize patient lives. When I say 'prioritizing patient lives' I mean I know that term but I never used it before until I came here," he said in an interview with NPR by video call from Rafah.

The benign-sounding term refers to deciding whom to stop treating and let die in order to divert resources to those with a better chance of surviving.

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Part of the problem is that items critical for hospitals are banned by Israel which says they can be used by Hamas for military purposes. The list of items it considers dual-use include some water disinfection materials.

The list does not cover all items that are reportedly banned. Save the Children has said it has had shipments rejected by Israel because they contained sleeping bags with zippers. An Israeli legal center, Geisha (sic), has compiled a list of items that have been reported by organizations to have been rejected, including fishing rods and plastic sheets for tents.