Inaugurado un hospital en Gaza financiado por Mohamed VI

The Gaza Strip finally inaugurates the Al-Quds speciality hospital, which has been largely financed by Morocco. This hospital was destroyed during the Israeli offensive against the enclave in 2008. Following that year's conflict, King Mohammed VI presided over the signing ceremony in Fez of two agreements on the reconstruction of the destroyed wing of the Al-Quds hospital, as well as the reconstruction of the Faculty of Agronomy at Al Azhar University in Gaza.

The hospital's opening ceremony was attended by the head of the Moroccan representative office in Ramallah, Mohamed Hamzaoui, as well as a number of Palestinian personalities and officials. The new facility has, according to the official MAP news agency, a capacity of 102 beds, and several speciality wings, including a 10-bed intensive care unit, and an obstetrics and gynaecology section.

The president of the Palestinian Red Crescent Association, Younis Al-Khatib, added that the hospital has a number of medical support services, including a laboratory, a pharmacy and a radiology centre. Al-Khatib also expressed his gratitude to Morocco, as well as to the Moroccan Red Crescent for their great support, which enabled the reconstruction of the medical facility.

For his part, the governor of Gaza, Ibrahim Abu al-Naja, thanked the kingdom for the donation that made it possible to rebuild and equip the Al-Quds hospital, stressing that this medical facility aims to provide assistance to the Palestinian people and minimise medical evacuations abroad. In addition to the 2009 agreements, Mohammed VI has also instructed the Moroccan government to open a special account for Moroccan citizens to help the Palestinian people.

Last May, following the new Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip that lasted 11 days, Mohammed VI, president of the Al-Quds Committee, gave instructions to send urgent humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This humanitarian aid, consisting of 40 tonnes, consisted of basic foodstuffs, emergency medicines and blankets, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

For its part, Morocco denounced the violent events in the occupied Palestinian territories, specifying that the continuation of these practices would only increase the factors of escalation and tension, as well as the prevalence of hate speech, thus diminishing the chances of peace in the region.