The World Health Organisation said on Thursday that northern Gaza has been left without a functional hospital due to a lack of fuel, staff and supplies.

Only nine out of 36 health facilities were partially functional in the whole of Gaza, according to the WHO. All these facilities are concentrated in the enclave’s south.

“There are actually no functional hospitals left in the north,” Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in Gaza, told reporters via video link from Jerusalem.“Al-Ahli (Hospital) was the last one but it is now minimally functional: still treating patients but not admitting new ones.”

Describing it as a “shell of a hospital”, Peeperkorn said Al-Ahli resembled a hospice providing very limited care. About 10 staff, all junior doctors and nurses, continue to provide basic first aid, pain management and wound care with scant resources, he said.

“Until two days ago, it was the only hospital where injured people could get surgery in northern Gaza and that was overwhelmed with patients needing emergency care,” he said. “There are no operating theatres anymore due to the lack of fuel, power, medical supplies and health workers, including surgeons and other specialists.”