Red Cross field hospital in Gaza's Rafah almost full after mass casualties

A 60-bed Red Cross field hospital in southern Gaza's Rafah is almost completely full after "repeated mass casualty events", a medical NGO has warned.

This includes an Israeli attack on the so-called Al-Mawasi "safe zone", which killed dozens with 26 injured sent to the field hospital, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in a press release.

"The repeated mass casualty events resulting from the unrelenting hostilities have stretched to breaking point the response capacity of our hospital – and all health facilities in southern Gaza – to care for those with life-threatening injuries," ICRC Gaza sub-delegation chief William Schomburg said.

"Another mass casualty event would force our doctors and nurses to make extremely difficult choices. The current medical needs of civilians dramatically outstrip the limited availability of supplies and healthcare response, as hospitals have repeatedly been compelled to close."

ICRC said many of the worst injuries were shrapnel-related and patients will need multiple procedures and therapies before they can leave the hospital.

One of those wounded on Saturday was Ahmad Nahed, 10, who was out buying food for his family when an explosion struck nearby.

"The number of patients requiring resuscitation following Saturday's influx of casualties is hard to imagine," Dr Pankaj Jhaldiyal told ICRC.

"On Saturday, we had eight patients with severe life- and limb-threatening injuries who needed immediate surgeries. It is horrific to see. In these instances, we must respond rapidly."

Along with the 26 patients transported from Al-Mawasi to the field hospital, there were a further 850 patients in the outpatient department last week, almost half of whom were women and a third children.

The majority of patients have been displaced from their homes multiple times with little food and clean water, while overcrowding makes it easy for them to fall ill again.

Staff have provided 12,000 consultations and more than 500 surgeries since the Red Cross field hospital opened in May.

Eight in 10 procedures carried out are for wounds directly related to the war.

Israel's war on Gaza, which began more than nine months ago in October, has so far killed at least 38,848 people, according to the Palestinian enclave's health ministry.