Hamas chief in Gaza Yehya al-Sinwar said Sunday that enormous efforts have been exerted with various international sides to build a hospital in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

While meeting with Palestinian dignitaries in Rafah, al-Sinwar stressed that constructing a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah is a top priority for him.

Al-Sinwar added that an emergency unit in Rafah Medical Hospital would be established before the start of 2020, noting that this move is a “preliminary step and will be followed by other ones.”

Rafah, home to about 250,000 Palestinians, has seen a popular and online campaign calling a central hospital to be established in the southern Gaza Strip city.