Israel’s war against Gaza live: Heavy Israeli artillery fire over Rafah | News on the Israel-Palestine conflict

We reported on the closure of Rafah’s main medical facility, the Kuwait Specialist Hospital, following an Israeli attack that killed two of its staff.

Dr Mohammed Tahir, an orthopaedic surgeon who has just returned to the UK from volunteering in Rafah, described the situation at the hospital.

“I (just) spoke on the phone with some of my colleagues with whom I worked (in Gaza). They are facing artillery fire and attacks from quadcopters at close range. They fear for their lives,” Tahir told Al Jazeera.

“The situation is bad. We are in Tal as-Sultan, west of Rafah. This area has not yet been evacuated, and yet very heavy attacks are taking place at this moment,” said Tahir.

“The Kuwaiti hospital, the main hospital, has been evacuated and they are moving to al-Mawasi, where they have a field hospital that is not quite ready yet. And in the meantime, quadcopters (…) are restricting the movements of ambulances. So the injured cannot even get help,” he said.

“The international community must do more. We must allow medical personnel to enter Gaza. We must allow medical supplies to enter Gaza. All these hospitals are running out of essential medicines and fuel (…). So the situation there is terrible and I call on the international community to act.”