SINGAPORE: The Love Aid Singapore polyclinic in North Gaza has been ordered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to dismantle and relocate to the south.
The facility, which began operations in July, has been serving around 5,000 Palestinians seeking refuge in the heavily damaged district.
Singaporean activist and founder of Love Aid Singapore, Gilbert Goh, shared an update on Instagram on 16 September.
“Our polyclinic in North Gaza has been ordered to dismantle and displaced to the south – as ordered by the IDF yesterday.
It has been operating only for two months since we took charge of the operations in July,” he wrote.
Goh noted that the organisation’s Central Gaza polyclinic remains intact. It currently treats between 80 and 100 patients daily.
However, he added that many other clinics located within the evacuation combat zone have also been instructed to shut down or move.
“There is the plan to shift the polyclinic to the south where many of the displaced have moved from the north.
We will update everyone once a decision has been finalised,” he said.
According to the update, all staff except the doctors will be displaced.
Goh also appealed for support, urging Singaporeans to keep Love Aid’s workers in their prayers as they continue humanitarian work under difficult and dangerous conditions.
“Please pray for all our aid workers that they will be safe from harm while carrying out humanitarian work on behalf of Love Aid Singapore,” he added.
Health System on the Brink
It is noted that there are currently no operational health facilities in North Gaza.
The last functioning hospital in the area, Al-Awda Hospital, was forced to close in May after the Israeli military ordered its immediate evacuation.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed that the shutdown of Al-Awda means there are now no hospitals still operating in the North Gaza governorate.
The WHO described public health conditions in Gaza as “catastrophic”, with hospitals running far beyond their capacity.
Life-saving medicines have run out, and deaths from malnutrition and disease are steadily increasing.
Dr Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, said that fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals and just 38 per cent of its primary healthcare centres remain partially functional – and even then, only at minimal levels.
Bed occupancy in major facilities has exceeded capacity by wide margins: Shifa Hospital is at 250 per cent, Nasser at 180 per cent, Al-Rantisi at 210 per cent and Al-Ahli at more than 300 per cent.
Dr Peeperkorn added that the shortage of medicines and consumables has become critical, with 52 per cent of essential medicines and 68 per cent of consumables now completely out of stock.
Humanitarian Situation Worsens
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on 3 September that Israel’s ongoing offensive, combined with famine conditions, could push civilians into “an even deeper catastrophe”.
Between 14 and 31 August alone, more than 82,000 new displacements were recorded, with nearly 30,000 people moving from north to south Gaza.
In August, the United Nations officially declared a famine in Gaza, citing the “systematic obstruction” of aid by Israel during over 22 months of war.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), more than 514,000 people in the Gaza Strip are already enduring catastrophic conditions marked by starvation, destitution and death.
This number is projected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Conditions are expected to deteriorate further between mid-August and late September 2025, with famine likely to spread to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
The IPC also warned that by June 2026, at least 132,000 children under the age of five will suffer from acute malnutrition – double the estimates made in May 2025.
More than 41,000 of these cases are classified as severe, putting young children at extreme risk of death.
Since the escalation of conflict on 7 October 2023, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported nearly 65,000 Palestinians killed, including 19,424 children, with more than 165,300 others injured.
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