Gaza Strip’s only Covid testing lab is destroyed in Israeli Airstrikes. Heavy airstrikes and bombardments have succumbed to various people’s lives on both sides. Amid the ongoing pandemic, this conflict is rising on another level.
Al-Ramal Health Clinic In Gaza Destroyed in Israeli Airstrikes
Al-Ramal Health Clinic in Central Gaza was destroyed on Monday evening. It was the only COVID-19 testing lab in the strip. An Israeli airstrike hit the street outside the lab, turning it into ashes. The windows are shattered, the doors are tattered, and there are ruins all over. COVID-19 hit the Gaza Strip very badly. They don’t have access to adequate medical supplies and other equipment. Due to scarcity, authorities were able to carry out only a tiny number of Covid tests. And now, after the airstrike, whatever was left, is also destroyed. The strip is left with zero Covid testing labs now. It is temporarily inoperable after the airstrike on Monday.
People Brutally Injured in the Attack
Reportedly, the airstrike targeted another building in the city. But unfortunately, it landed on the Al-Ramal health clinic. The airstrike sent shrapnel and debris across the street. Besides the lab, Hamas-run administrative buildings are also destroyed. One ministry employee was hospitalized after he was brutally injured. He is in extremely serious condition as the shrapnel hit him directly in the head. Doctors and other authorities considered this attack barbaric. There is no way to justify the attack.
Interior Equipment Safe and Unharmed
However, the attack didn’t cause severe damage to the lab. The equipment inside the lab is safe and unharmed. But it will take at least a day to clean up the mess. The attack was brutal and so is the destruction. It will take some time to clear the damage and prepare for testings again. Meanwhile, labs will not administer any testing. Not only Covid testings but other testings were also conducted in the Al-Ramal clinic. Tests related to H.I.V, Hepatitis C, etc. were also processed in the lab. Only 1.9 percent of the Gaza Strip’s total population is fully vaccinated so far. In Israel, the total count is 56 percent.
