Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital
| Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Gaza Strip |
| Organisation | |
| Funding | Built by TIKA; Operated by the Ministry of Health |
| Type | Specialist |
| Affiliated university | Islamic University of Gaza; Palestinian Ministry of Health |
| Services | |
| Beds | 200 |
| Speciality | Oncology; Teaching |
| History | |
| Construction started | 2011 |
| Opened | 2020 |
The Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was built and equipped by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA). The construction of the hospital started in 2010 during the premiership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan when the Board of Trustees of the Islamic University of Gaza requested that a training and research hospital be built for the university in the Gaza Strip.[1] TİKA was subsequently instructed to build the Palestine-Turkey Friendship Hospital, where construction began in 2011 and was completed in 2017 at a total cost of 70 million US dollars.[1][2]
Facilities
The hospital was built at the campus of the Faculty of Medicine at the Islamic University of Gaza, which is located south of Gaza City. It has a total interior space of 33,400 sq. meters and consists of 8 interconnected blocks, with 4 operating rooms, intensive care units, laboratories, and 200 beds. In its full capacity, the hospital can serve up to 30000 patients annually, as well as provide health training for 500 medical students, 800 nursing students, and 400 allied health services students per year.[2][3]
Operation
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital was transferred to Palestinian authorities to operate as a COVID-19 isolation and treatment facility. A provisional deed of transfer was issued and signed by TİKA and the Rectorate of the Islamic University of Gaza for the transfer of the hospital, upon which the hospital was transferred fully to Gaza authorities on March 26, 2020.[1]
In November 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic began to subside, the Gaza Ministry of Health began relocating oncology and oncology-related services from the different governmental hospitals in the Gaza Strip to the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in a bid to "unify the diagnostic and treatment services in one specialized and integrated center".[3] The Hospital currently operates under a joint administration from IUG and the MoH.[4]
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, and amid the October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, the hospital was forced to shut down, despite being Gaza's only cancer hospital, after running out of fuel.[5]
Gallery
-
A look at the southern entrance of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and the IUG Faculty of Medicine. The TIKA logo can be seen on the main entrance. -
The Hospital and the IUG Faculty of Medicine buildings as the appear in an aerial view taken from the north-east. -
View of the hospital from the north -
Outpatient clinics entrance
References
- ^ a b c "The Hospital Built by TİKA in Gaza Will Give Hope to Palestinians in the Fight against the Coronavirus - TİKA". www.tika.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ a b "Achievements and Milestones – كلية الطب". Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ a b "MOH – Gaza: Completion of the first phase of transferring oncology treatment services to the Palestinian-Turkish Friendship Hospital". وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية (in Arabic). 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ "MOH-Gaza, IUG sign an MOU to operate the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital". وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية (in Arabic). 2020-04-09. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
- ^ "Israel-Hamas war: Gaza's only cancer hospital forced to close - as dozens killed in Israeli strikes". Sky news.