GAZA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Gazan people have established a number of mobile clinics in neighborhoods and shelters to support the overwhelmed health sector and provide health services for those in need in the war-torn enclave.

Zaki Shahin, once a nurse in Rafah, is among those who decided to share his medical experiences to provide health care for locals in his area in southern Gaza.

The 62-year-old man turned his small shop, which he opened two years ago after retirement, into a mobile clinic to provide medical services to people in his neighborhood, mainly to the displaced.

He came up with the idea two weeks ago when one of his neighbors got wounded but failed to go to any hospital for treatment amid fears of Israeli airstrikes.

"In fact, the hospitals can barely receive more wounded by the Israeli attacks. So, I decided to extend a helping hand and ease the burdens of the hospitals in my area," said the man.

He added that "our people are living in a dire situation without having any of their human rights, neither in their houses nor in the temporary tents."

For 16 hours a day, Shahin provides services for hundreds of people, starting from seven o'clock in the morning.

Fedaa al-Qirshaly, a Gaza-based doctor, has joined Shahin by turning her temporary tent into a mobile clinic to provide medical services for free to the displaced people in Rafah.

The 35-year-old woman, also a mother of five, said she relocated to Rafah with her children to seek refuge but later found that, in the overcrowded shelters, many of the displaced people lack access to medical services.

"Then I decided to provide health services to them for free," said al-Qirshaly.

Both Shahin and al-Qirshaly provide first aid to patients, such as dressing wounds, and medical consultations for common diseases, including coughs and diarrhea. They also offer medicines they obtain from the Health Ministry for free to displaced patients.

"The mobile medical points may not be sufficient to provide all medical services, but they certainly reduce the daily pressures on hospitals," al-Qirshaly said.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has been launching a massive offensive on the coastal enclave in retaliation for an unexpected attack by Hamas militants, which killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 60,000 others while displacing about 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.3 million population, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. Enditem

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