Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Türkiye is ready to treat patients affected by the ongoing conflict, both those injured in the Israeli attacks in Gaza and those in need of treatment but struggling to leave the besieged Palestinian city.
“The international community has to choose between letting them die for a fee or saving their lives,” Koca wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
Amid Israel’s attacks, Gaza's hospitals find themselves in an overwhelming crisis, with the Palestinian health minister revealing an astonishing occupancy rate exceeding 150%. The situation is dire, with the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, originally designed for 700 patients, now grappling with a staggering influx of 5,000 patients.
Koca mentioned the closure of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in the city due to a barrage of attacks and fuel shortage, “despite all our warnings and calls to relevant international institutions and countries.” Last month, the Turkish minister urged the World Health Organization (WHO) to take action to extend medical aid to Palestinian civilians. Earlier, the WHO warned about security risks to getting aid to hospitals in the enclave. The Turkish government funded the construction of the hospital in the period between 2011-2017, making it the largest hospital in Palestine with an area of 34,800 square meters (375,000 square feet) over six floors and with a capacity of 180 beds.
“As Türkiye, we are ready to provide all support services to continue the treatment of cancer patients who were discharged from the hospital due to lack of any type of opportunity, and to transfer the intensive care patients of children and adults in Gaza, who are under care and evaluated appropriate for treatment, as soon as possible by ensuring the necessary coordination,” Koca said on Thursday.
“We expect the international community and relevant institutions to respond to our call as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the international community has not made sufficient efforts to prevent these attacks. Now saving lives is an obligatory task. The only option other than saving the patients’ lives is to leave the patients deliberately to die. Does anyone say that “I can take responsibility for this?'” he added.
