Israel is talking to medical agencies about setting up field hospitals in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, where it has told Palestinian civilians to seek refuge while it fights Hamas in the north, an Israeli official said, according to Reuters.

Colonel Elad Goren of COGAT, an Israeli Defence Ministry agency that liaises with Palestinians on civilian affairs, said the idea was initially to address the general needs of the wounded, potentially moving to more specialised care later.

“Right now, we are talking about field hospitals that would provide the basic medical care required for war trauma,” Goren told Reuters.

“Field hospitals can, potentially, be equipped to provide specialised medical care, given their modular structure, but this would be further down the line. There is also the question of where to find specialised staff,” he said.