KUALA LUMPUR – Thousands of people remain trapped in the Al-Shifa Hospital as the Israeli military surrounds Gaza’s largest health complex despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.
“There is no safe passage out of the hospital,” said a message from the Gaza Health Ministry which was shared by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It added that up to 650 patients are in the health facility – including newborns and the critically injured – 200 to 500 health workers, as well as 1,500 internally displaced people who have been taking shelter since the war started more than a month ago.
In a statement, WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus called the situation “dire and perilous” as there has been no electricity, power and water as well as poor internet connection for at least three days.
“The constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances. Tragically, the number of patient fatalities has increased significantly.
“Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore. The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair,” he added.
He also reiterated similar calls from other humanitarian groups including Doctors Without Borders to stop the attacks on healthcare facilities and for immediate ceasefire.
Meanwhile, The Guardian reported that establishing control over the sprawling hospital complex, which dominates Gaza’s city centre, is a key objective for Israel.
Its location is said to be near much of Hamas’ administrative infrastructure, and close to the main road that runs along the coast.
Although Israel has claimed that the Hamas headquarters is in the bunkers right under the hospital, Hamas has repeatedly rejected the claims.
According to international humanitarian law, health facilities and units, including hospitals, should not be attacked.
Doctors Without Borders surgeon Dr Mohammed Obeid shared an eerie voice note from inside Al-Shifa, which is Gaza’s largest medical facility, saying a sniper had attacked four patients inside the hospital.
“One of the patients has a gunshot wound directly in his neck, and he is quadriplegic, and the other one (was shot) in the abdomen. Some of the people went outside the hospital – they wanted to go to the south. They bombed them…they bombed their family.
“We can see the smoke around the hospital. They (Israeli military) hit everything around the hospital. And they hit the hospital many times.”
There are currently no other facilities on the Gaza Strip that are able to admit and treat as many patients with complex, life-threatening injuries. However, ambulances can no longer move to collect the injured, and non-stop bombardment prevents patients and staff from evacuating.
Also, the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City is now out of service, rendered non-operational due to relentless Israeli air strikes and ground incursions in the Palestinian territory.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced this development via a post on X (formerly Twitter) and attributed the cessation of hospital services to a critical shortage of fuel and persistent power outages.
Since the siege on Gaza started on October 7 following a deadly Hamas attack, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed with more than a third of them children.
The war also displaced some 1.6 million Palestinians, more than 70% of the Strip’s total population, and destroyed much of its infrastructure.
In a revised statement on November 11, Israel said Hamas killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took some 240 hostages during its attack on October 7. Previously, Israel said it lost more than 1,600 people. – November 13, 2023