About 1,000 people from Gaza have been treated in a French field hospital aboard a ship off the coast of Egypt, its captain said, providing care for some as health infrastructure in the war-devastated enclave collapses, reports FRANCE 24.
The Dixmude, a French helicopter carrier, has been docked in the Egyptian port of al-Arish, 50 km (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, since November. The vessel is equipped with wards, operating theatres and 70 medical staff.
Nearly 120 injured people have been hospitalised on board, while hundreds more have been seen for outpatient consultations, including follow-ups on injuries and psychiatric issues, said Captain Alexandre Blonce, calling it an "unprecedented mission".
Israeli forces launched all-out war to eliminate Gaza's ruling Palestinian Islamist group Hamas after its militants burst across the border into southern Israeli towns and bases on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages back to the enclave. Over 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war.
Gazans have struggled to get medical care at home as tens of thousands have been wounded, with most of Gaza's 36 hospitals no longer functioning, and those remaining operating at far over capacity, the World Health Organization says.