Equipment and materials have been finalised for an upgraded International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) field hospital in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.
The much-needed upgrade came after a lengthy approval process and will increase the number of beds from 60 to 72, the ICRC said. Improvements will be made to emergency, outpatient, maternity and paediatric departments.
The hospital, which was designed to last six to 12 months, has been operational for two years since Israel's war on Gaza began in 2023. Since then, it has survived bombardment, extreme weather changes and an overflow of sick and injured patients.
Speaking to The National, ICRC spokesman Patrick Griffiths said talks on bringing in materials and equipment began nearly a year ago.
"This week marks the culmination of a months-long effort of negotiations with Israeli authorities," he said.
The facility is effectively a "replacement hospital," with parts being sourced from Nairobi to Egypt's Al Arish. Each piece is being replaced by a new one, Mr Griffiths said.
The field hospital was supposed to be temporary, but has had to get an upgrade so it can last longer because of the urgency and scope of medical needs in Gaza.
"The health system in Gaza is under immense pressure, and if the field hospital wasn't here, there would be a huge gap in people's abilities to have their health needs met," Mr Griffiths said.
Still, with only canvas and tents separating patients inside the hospital from the elements outside, the situation is less than ideal.
People are unprotected from the heat in the summer, the cold in the winter, and storms. The hospital is also close to the sea, leaving it vulnerable to erosion from saltwater.
Israel is currently blockading the entry of essential equipment and items needed to sustain already damaged health facilities.
When the ceasefire began in October, Gaza did not have a single fully-functioning hospital, despite more than 172,000 people being injured during the two-year war.
The ICRC maintains a strong relationship with the warring sides in the Gaza war. But Israel has already banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) - which has the largest humanitarian network in Gaza, with more than 11,000 employees - from operating there.
"There are no alternatives, and we stretched the hospital's shelf-life because of the immense needs," Mr Griffiths said.
