Gaza’s largest hospital has stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said as hundreds of patients remain trapped at this latest focal point of Israel-Hamas ground battle in the blockaded Palestinian territory.
In Gaza, 20 out of 36 hospitals are no longer functioning, according to the UN’s humanitarian agency.
.@WHO has managed to get in touch with health professionals at the Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza.
The situation is dire and perilous.
It’s been 3 days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which has severely impacted our ability to provide essential…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 12, 2023
“The WHO has managed to get in touch with health professionals at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza…the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore, said WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair.”
The situation remains grim in north Gaza where hospitals are blockaded by Israeli forces and are not able to provide care to those inside. At least two newborns died at the hospital while more are at risk due to power outages, Reuters reported citing medical staff.
Thousands of Gazans have sought shelter around the Al-Shifa hospital as the battle continued in surrounding areas.
The Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City too is out of service due to lack of generator fuel, said Palestinian Red Crescent.
Israel has on several instances alleged that hospitals in Gaza are being used by Hamas for their operations.
The Israel-Hamas war, the deadliest this region has ever seen, began October 7 as Hamas operatives swarmed from Gaza, killing and kidnapping Israelis and foreigners from border towns. At least 1,200 were killed in the multiple wave of attacks on Israel.
In response, the Benjamin Netanyahu government launched airstrikes on Gaza and expanded ground operations inside the strip, vowing to destroy Hamas and their military capabilities. At least 11,180 people including 4,609 children were killed in the counterattack, according to the Hamas government’s media office.
Witnesses saw “violent fighting” over the night near the hospital with sounds of small arms fire and aerial bombardments echoing across the complex, reported AFP.
Around 3,000 patients and staff are trapped at the hospital complex without adequate water and food, said the UN agencies. Besides two incubated babies, a man too died after his ventilator shut down due to power cut.
“It’s been three days without electricity, without water and with very poor internet which has severely impacted our ability to provide essential care,” said the WHO head.
Al-Shifa director Mohammad Abu Salmiya also rejected Israel’s claims that their soldiers hand-delivered 300 litres of fuel to the hospital. The 300 litres would power generators for “no more than quarter of an hour” anyway, he said.
