There are no hospitals left in Gaza

Question

Palestine once had 36 hospitals but now has 0 due to the ongoing conflict.

Comments

X is a source that can easily have facts that aren't true. While doing some research I found from the World Health Organization that some hospitals are remaining although they are not fully functional. Southern Gaza used to have 12 hospitals, and now has 7 partially functional hospitals left.  WHO is a reliable source when trying to get information about world health while X is not.
https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats#:~:text=In%20southern%20Gaza%2C%20which%20used,minimally%20functional%20and%20now%20inaccessible.

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Since this was a bold claim I fact checked the World Health Organization to understand the validity of your claim. Hospitals in Gaza still exist, yet they are only partly functional due to the conflicts. There are only 120 healthcare workers in the Al-Sifa hospital who are tending to 300 patients. The World Health Organization stated, "Essential services such as basic laboratory and radiological facilities remain operational, along with emergency care, a surgical unit with three operation theaters, post-operative care, and a dialysis unit." Along with those services, the hospital plans on opening a nine bed ICU in the coming days.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

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Using X as a reliable source can be tricky since there is a lot of misinformation circulating on social media. To say that there are no hospitals left would be inaccurate. According to the World Health Organization, as of January 24, 2024, there are only seven partially functional hospitals in southern Gaza. And in northern Gaza, seven out of 24 hospitals are open but partially functional.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

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WHO is a great source! What resource or research did you use to figure out X isn't reliable. Did any other reliable resources have information on this topic?

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your fact check was great. You are right this was a very bold claim to make. I like that you after fact check with your reliable source you expanded on the topic providing some information you gained from your source. Your quote was also helpful.

Answer 1

The claim from X stated that none of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain open despite over 56,000 Gazans being injured and 50,000 Gazans being pregnant.

Hospitals in Gaza are in severe condition. However, the claim is exaggerated by stating none of the hospitals remain.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 14 of the 36 hospitals referenced in the claim are still open. Seven out of 24 hospitals remain open in northern Gaza, and seven out of 12 hospitals remain open in southern Gaza. These hospitals are only partially functioning, and there are no maternity or pediatric services available. WHO stated the remaining hospitals face "dire circumstances."

According to WHO, there are an estimated 50,000 pregnant Gazans as of Nov. 2023.

More information is needed to determine whether the claim's reference to over 56,000 injured Gazans is true. I do not know if the publisher is referencing a specific event or an overall total.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospitals-collapsing-rcna132439

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/24/50000-women-pregnant-in-gaza-amid-decimation-of-its-health-system#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20estimates%20that,decimation%E2%80%9D%20of%20its%20healthcare%20system.

https://www.who.int/news/item/03-11-2023-women-and-newborns-bearing-the-brunt-of-the-conflict-in-gaza-un-agencies-warn

Comments

Your fact check is very accurate and provides multiple facts from reliable sources. You included information as to which hospitals are open and what issues each one may be facing during this time of war. Though the hospitals may be open, it's important to acknowledge that many of them are not running with the resources needed to treat wounds and deal with sicknesses that Palestinians are facing.

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Using WHO as a source was very smart as that is probably the most reliable health source there is. The original post is definitely worded poorly as there are still hospitals, but they just don't meet the needs of the Gaza citizens. Fact checking a report while also acknowledging why people might think differently is very well done.

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Your fact-check is accurate and you're using reliable sources like WHO and reliable news sources like NBC. It's important to note in the beginning claim that it's exaggerating. A lot fewer hospitals are working and running in Gaza, but some are still open and working.

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I like your fact-check. It is clear, concise, and straight to the point. It provides sufficient detail alongside accurate numbers to prove the initial claim false. I like how you gathered your evidence from multiple different sources rather than a singular source.

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You have a very accurate fact-check, and you use reliable sources to support your fact-check. While the claim does have some truth in saying that hospitals in Gaza are closed, saying all of the hospitals are closed is heavily exaggerated. I like that you used the World Health Organization as one of your sources, considering that is a reliable source.

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I really appreciate your fact check and the validity and thoroughness of it. When researching this subject, I also turned to the World Health Organization website and found it to be a secure source of information. It's helpful that you went into depth on what parts of the claim have some validity and which parts are completely false. Your explanation was strong and your list of various sources helps to back up your counter claim very well.

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This was a very thorough fact check--you checked all the claims made. You clearly stated the claim, acknowledged the state Gaza is in and backed it up by facts, and came to the conclusion that the original post, while maybe based on truth, was exaggerated. I also think using the World Health Organization as a source was a great move!

Answer 2

Based on the evidence I found from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are still hospitals standing, they just aren't fully functional. In the article, it is said that WHO and other partners endured a high-risk mission to resupply fuel for the Al-Shifa Hospital in Northern Gaza. The few hospitals remaining in Gaza are in a dire situation without access to supplies or health workers. The Initial claim from X, previously known as Twitter, stated that Gaza began with 36 hospitals, which have reduced to zero. This in itself is false because the numerical data is wrong. However, the concept is there. As stated by WHO, seven out of 24 hospitals remain open. However, the seven that are open are only partially functioning.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

Comments

Good job in using W.H.O to fact check this claim because it is a pretty aggressive claim. Having no hospitals is a pretty false fact, we know they are in conflict and you found that there not even 36, but 24, and 7 of which are still operating partially. Great job by quickly finding this out because I feel that war time claims are dangerous because of how severe the conflict is, it may cause people to flair up issues like this as propaganda.

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I think you did a great job finding evidence to back up your claim! I think we need to remember that oftentimes things in media get dramaticized and exaggerated, and this is one of those cases. The most important thing we can do in these situations is to recognize them and get into the habit of fact-checking. I also think using the WHO as your source was great as it gave us accurate data.

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WHO is a great source to use as a fact check. I used the same article to fact check, however I believe you added more information to your response, that made your response stronger than mine. By adding the information you did, you made it more thorough and it was overall a really great fact check. I think one way to make it a little stronger is by having two sources that back up your conclusion.

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This fact-check is simply outstanding! Starting with the World Health Organization was a brilliant move, considering their reputation as one of the most reliable sources for assessing hospital conditions. Additionally, the fact-checking process involved thoroughly examining the author's background and past claims. It's clear that a lot of effort and attention to detail went into this fact-check, making it comprehensive and reliable.

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I thought you did a great job on your fact-check. I thought that using the World Health Organization helped validate your claim. There is a lot of trust in the data that we find through the World Health Organization. I also really appreciate you adding talking about how the hospitals that do remain are only partly functioning. This detail gives a reason for the false claims and still emphasizes he issues that may be going on in Gaza.

Answer 3

This account on X specifically shares information, reposts stories and opinions, and posts claims about the civilian hardships, humanitarian crisis, and terror that Israel is creating for innocent civilians in Gaza. The agent of this post does not put any research to support this claim and presents this as if it is an in-person account that "there are no hospitals in Gaza". The New York Times, ABC News, and Reuters claim that the World Health Organization says there are no more functional hospitals in Northern Gaza and 9 remain in Southern Gaza. The creator of this post is partially correct but makes too broad of a statement to be completely factually accurate. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/northern-gaza-no-longer-has-functional-hospital-who-says-2023-12-21/#:~:text=GENEVA%2C%20Dec%2021%20(Reuters),Gaza%2C%20according%20to%20the%20WHO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/21/world/middleeast/gaza-hospitals-who.html

https://abcnews.go.com/International/functional-hospitals-northern-gaza-9-left-south/story?id=105867484

Comments

You used reputable sources for your fact check. The original question is a little misleading because it says there are no hospitals in Gaza, but then states in all of Palestine, which provides us with two different numbers/answers to this fact check. It looks like all of your sources are from December and it appears the numbers have changed a little since then. Currently according to WHO there are currently 7 hospitals open in North Gaza and 7 open in South Gaza. Overall, there are still hospitals functioning.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

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I appreciated your answer and you explaining the difference between the claim and what is actually occurring. There are still hospitals in Gaza, they are just not fully functioning. I think something that could improve your fact check is some numerical data. As of Jan. 24, according to the WHO, "Seven out of 24 hospitals remain open in northern Gaza." I also agree that this statement is too board Gaza is not all of Palestine. Gaza strip is where most of this data comes from so it can't represent all of Palestine.

source: xhttps://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

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I appreciate how you stated information about X, the original source. By adding that information, you are not only creating a post that identifies reliable sources, but also why X is not reliable. I also found that there were sources that took information from WHO, however to make your point stronger I think you could quote WHO because their information is being used by other sources. Overall great post!

Answer 4

The account @folkoftheshelf that posted this claim provided to sources to back up the information they posted. A further look into the X account and it becomes clear that it is someone's personal account where they have posted many videos and statistics following the conflict between Israel and Palestine in addition to random other personal posts. Because the author of the post has not provided any details as to how they got this information, there is no evidence as to where they got it. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 36 hospitals in Gaza, however, as of January 18th only 14 are currently functioning due to lost power and resources. There are 7 in the north and 7 in the south. The WHO is a United Nations agency that was founded in 1948 and works around the world to promote health and wellness in a variety of communities. They are an incredibly reliable source of information surrounding world health crisis' like that currently exhibited in Palestine. There are still functioning hospitals in Palestine.

https://www.who.int/about

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospitals-collapsing-rcna132439

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

Answer 5

Although this claim was mostly true at one point, the information is now outdated. According to a WHO article published on December 27th, there were a few minimally functioning hospitals left in Northern Gaza. A Reuters article cited the WHO in an article published on December 21st, saying there were nine partially functioning hospitals. However, in an article published on January 24th, the WHO mentions the Al-Shifa hospital which is now able to run more efficiently due to aid efforts. Later in the report, it does mention the lack of fully functioning hospitals in Northern Gaza and the WHO's concerns with the lack of aid. Overall, this claim is not entirely false, but it is misleading and exaggerated.

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/northern-gaza-no-longer-has-functional-hospital-who-says-2023-12-21/

https://www.who.int/news/item/27-12-2023-who-teams-deliver-supplies-to-hospitals-in-northern-and-southern-gaza#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20WHO,Gaza%2C%20and%20is%20partially%20functioning.

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

Answer 6

Based on the evidence I found on ABC news, the WHO has said there are no functional hospitals left in northern parts in Gaza, providing only basic need. The hospitals in the south are all partially functioning and running out of basic needs like antibiotics. The original claim that was made on X, stated that Gaza had 36 hospitals and now has none, which is false. This claim has some true evidence regarding the numbers of injured people and pregnant women, but not all the facts are true.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/functional-hospitals-northern-gaza-9-left-south/story?id=105867484

Comments

I appreciate your comment that the original claim made on X was false. I agree with this and think this comment is very misleading and could potentially be harmful. I was wondering why you listed only ABC news as one of your sources instead of directly listing the World Health Organization which would've been a stronger source. I also like that you noted some of the aspects of the claim are true because there are hospitals still open but they are running out of supplies and staff rapidly.

Answer 7

According to the WHO, there are still about 7 hospitals in Gaza that remain open, but there are no hospitals that are fully functioning. According to the WHO and NBC, even though the hospitals remain open, 70% of the health care workers have fled the hospitals due to the violence. In the original claim from @folkoftheshelf on X (January 19th, 5 days before WHO statement) it was stated that Gaza began with 36 hospitals and now there are none left. This is misleading firstly because according to the WHO there was 24 instead of 36 hospitals to begin with, and secondly because they are not all fully destroyed.

Answer 8

The statement made by the user on X "There are no hospitals in Gaza. There are none left" is misleading. First of all, according to the World Health Organization, as of Jan 24 there are a reported 7/12 partially functional hospitals in southern-Gaza, with  Al-Kheir Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex being minimally functional and inaccesible. 

Reuters has also also confirmed that Northern Gaza has been left without a functional hospital since Dec 21, and references the last 9 functional hospitals in the south. Al-Shifa, Al Awda and Al Sahaba hospitals were the last minimally functional hospitals in the north last reported.

Answer 9

As of recent, it has been made clear that although, some hospitals are destroyed and out of operation, a handful of hospitals still remain open in Gaza. Due to inflation of people rushing to hospitals and almost twice the capacity for these places, services are very limited as there are many people to attend to. Per NBC News, "As of this week(Jan 4th), none of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are fully functional, according to the WHO. Only 15 remain open with severely limited services, and many of them are so overwhelmed with casualties that they are running at 200 percent capacity." The World Health Organization has also released a statement that they have just completed their grueling mission of refueling the Al-Shifa hospital in Northern Gaza. so even though hospitals are not fully functioning, it is incorrect and misleading to say that there is absolutely zero left.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospitals-collapsing-rcna132439

https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

Answer 10

Based on my research of the original claim that there are no hospitals left in Gaza, I find this claim to be false. Through an initial search of the X(formerly twitter) account that posted the claim, I can see that it’s an unreliable personal account where the user posts personal photos scattered about random facts and statistics surrounding the Israel and Palestinne conflict. The author of this claim provided no support or evidence to back it up further leading me to question its validity. I have done an extended search on the World Health Organization's (WHO) website, and was surprised to find there were actually 36 hospitals left in Gaza. This comes for a reliable source, a United Nations agency that works to promote health and wellness and was founded back in 1948. Through additional reading I found that although 36 hospitals remain in Gaza, only 7 hospitals in the north and 7 hospitals in the south were still functioning due to disasters and consequences such as lost power and lack of resources and/or staff. The hospitals in Gaza are in very severe condition, however the claim posted is exaggerated extremely to state there are no hospitals at all.  

Sources: https://www.who.int/news/item/24-01-2024-who-and-partners-bring-fuel-to-al-shifa--as-remaining-hospitals-in-gaza-face-growing-threats

Comments

This was a great fact-check! I agree with you, this looks like an unreliable personal source that doesn't share any factual evidence to back up their claims. This means that the claim is most likely false. If you do some more research you can easily find this information and learn more about the attacks on the hospitals happening in Gaza and why exactly it keeps happening.