JMC launches winter relief campaign, prepares field hospital for Gaza

AMMAN — The Jordan Medical Council (JMC) has formed a committee to help Gazans cope with winter-related challenges amid the humanitarian crisis in their war-torn strip. 

The committee is part of the JMC’s efforts to support the medical teams volunteering in Gaza, where more than 850 Jordanian physicians, including 250 specialised surgeons, have applied to join since the outbreak of the war, according to JMC President Ziad Zu’bi.

The JMC has also established a cash donation fund to purchase urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for Gaza, where a field hospital is planned to be set up by the Jordan Medical Association (JMA) and other medical missions and associations, pending security authorisations.

Maha Fakhoury, a board member at the JMA, told The Jordan Times that the association has launched a winter relief campaign, providing over 2,000 bundles of winter clothing”.

The campaign, which is conducted in cooperation with the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO), is also working on securing milk and diapers for babies and children in the besieged enclave, she added.

Fakhoury also said that Gaza is in dire need of neurosurgeons, war-related burn care specialists, intensive care specialists and nursing staff. She also stressed the association’s readiness to assist in Gaza and provide help to the medical teams.

 The World Health Organisation highlighted that the situation in Gaza is “beyond control”, with ambulances being obstructed, humanitarian and health workers being attacked, and shortages of fuel, oxygen and essential medical supplies, as well as food and water, affecting both patients and doctors.

The organisation also said the health staff capacity in Gaza is minimal, relying heavily on volunteers.

Jordan operates two field hospitals in Gaza, one established in November last year in Khan Younis and the other in Gaza City, which was set up in 2009 following the Israeli war on the strip in 2008.