Al-Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals in Gaza said on Sunday that they were forced to stop operations. Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has also ceased operations.
Gaza’s two largest hospitals are unable to admit new patients. Hospitals are running out of medicine and fuel amid incessant Israeli airstrikes. Apart from this, the operation of another hospital has also been stopped. A number of hospital patients and medical staff were also killed.
Al-Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals in Gaza said on Sunday that they were forced to stop operations. Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has also ceased operations.
Ahmed Al-Kahlout, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said that the generator ran out of fuel as the reason.
Dr. Al-Shifa Hospital neurosurgeon. Nidal Abu Hadrous said that there is no electricity or water in the hospital and there is no way to get out safely. As a result, patients and staff are going through ‘catastrophes’.
This situation should not last long. “Urgent measures are needed to save hospital staff and patients,” Hadrous told Al Jazeera.
The World Health Organization has called for an immediate ceasefire to save the lives of people in Gaza.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the situation at Al-Shifa Hospital was “horrendous and dangerous”.
He posted on social media and said, ‘Hospitals are supposed to be a safe haven for everyone. When these are transformed into symbols of death, destruction and despair, the world cannot stand by silently.’
He also said, ‘It cannot be said that Al-Shifa is effective as a hospital.’
Three nurses from al-Shifa were killed in Israeli bombings from Friday to yesterday. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinian Authority said these attacks took place in areas near the hospital complex.
The United Nations agency also said on Sunday that a total of 12 patients, including two minor children, have died since the power supply was cut off and the generators ran out of fuel. The Cardiology Center and Gynecology Ward of the hospital suffered major damage in the bomb attack.
According to the World Health Organization, about 600 to 650 patients, 200 to 500 healthcare workers and about 1500 displaced people are stuck in the hospital. There is no safe way for them to come out.
Among the patients are 36 children, who are kept in incubators. But the incubators are not functioning now due to lack of electricity. As a result, these children can die at any time. This is what the Gaza Ministry of Health said.
Israeli forces have surrounded almost all major medical infrastructure in northern Gaza, including al-Shifa.
Israel claims that the main control center of Hamas’ underground tunnel network is located under Al-Shifa Hospital.
Hamas and hospital officials denied the claim. According to them, Hamas has no military infrastructure around the hospital.
Palestinian officials and people trapped inside the hospital said Israeli forces were directly targeting the hospital complex.
Munir al-Bursh, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, said that the snipers were shooting indiscriminately when they saw someone moving inside the compound.
“There are injured people in different parts of the building, but we can’t get to them,” he told Al Jazeera. So much so, we can’t even stick our heads out of the window’.
The Israeli military claimed on Sunday that they tried to evacuate the newborns from the hospital and that they also placed 300 liters of fuel oil at the entrance to the hospital. But this initiative did not succeed due to the obstruction of Hamas.
As evidence, Israel released a video showing soldiers placing oil containers in front of a hospital gate.
Hamas said it was up to the hospital to accept the fuel or not. The hospital is not owned by Hamas, but under the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Al-Shifa Hospital director Abu Salmiya denied the truth of this whole incident and said, “It is Israel’s propaganda”.
“Israel wants to show the whole world that they are not killing children,” he told Al Jazeera. They want to brighten the image by donating a little 300 liters of oil. This amount of oil does not last even 30 minutes (hospital operations).’
More than half of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are now defunct.
On October 7, Hamas attacked Israeli territory, killing 1,200 Israelis. About 200 Israeli and foreign citizens were taken hostage by Hamas. Since then, Israel has been carrying out indiscriminate and retaliatory air and ground attacks on Gaza for about 36 days.
About 11 thousand 78 Palestinians were killed in these attacks, 40 percent of whom were children.
Updates on the death toll were not available after Friday. According to the Ministry of Health, accurate information is not available due to the breakdown of the communication system of most of the hospitals.
