File photo of injured children at the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Photo credit: WHO
Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) today said it has lost communication with its contacts in Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. The Israeli Defence Forces troops were also operating in the Al-Shati Camp in the Gaza Strip today, and claimed to have killed “numerous terrorists in several different battles”.
“As horrifying reports of the hospital facing repeated attacks continue to emerge, we assume our contacts joined tens of thousands of displaced people who had sought shelter on the hospital grounds and are fleeing the area. There are reports that some people who fled the hospital have been shot at, wounded and even killed,” WHO said.
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) claimed that a passage was enabled from the Al-Shifa, Rantisi and Nasser hospitals and an additional passage was also opened to allow the civilian population to evacuate southwards.
Claiming that Hamas continues to use civilian structures in the Gaza Strip, including hospitals, for its terrorist activity, the IDF said today that in recent days, a senior officer in Israel’s Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza spoke with the manager of the Shifa Hospital multiple times and presented him with possible passages from the hospital. “IDF soldiers opened and secured a passage which enables the civilian population to evacuate, on foot and by ambulance,” an IDF spokesperson said.
Over the past 48 hours, Al-Shifa Hospital–which is the largest medical complex in Gaza–has been reportedly attacked multiple times, leaving several people dead and many others injured. The intensive care unit suffered damage from bombardment, while areas of the hospital where displaced people were sheltering have also been damaged. An intubated patient reportedly died when electricity was at one point cut.
The last reports said that the hospital was surrounded by tanks. Staff reported a lack of clean water and the risk of the last remaining critical functions, including Intensive Care Units (ICUs), ventilators and incubators, soon shutting down due to lack of fuel, putting the lives of patients at immediate risk.
WHO stated that it has grave concerns for the safety of the health workers, hundreds of sick and injured patients, including babies on life support and displaced people who remain inside the hospital. The number of inpatients is reportedly almost double its capacity, even after restricting services to lifesaving emergency care.
“Patients seeking health care should never be exposed to fear, and health workers who have taken an oath to treat them should never be forced to risk their own lives to provide care,” it stated.
WHO today called again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza “as the only way to save lives and reduce the horrific levels of suffering”. It reminded that hospitals, patients, health staff, and persons sheltering in health facilities are protected under the Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law. It also called for the “sustained, orderly, unimpeded and safe” medical evacuations of critically injured and sick patients into Egypt through the Rafah Border Crossing.
All hostages should receive appropriate medical care and be released unconditionally, WHO said.
Meanwhile, over the past day, IDF soldiers began operating in the Al-Shati Camp in the northern Gaza Strip. During the operational activity, IDF claimed that the soldiers killed “numerous terrorists and uncovered a large number of terrorist infrastructure in the area”.
During one of the battles with the terrorists, IDF said its troops identified civilians who were located in a building in the area, and an evacuation route was secured for them. However, as the civilians were evacuating, IDF claimed that terrorists fired at the troops from the outskirts of the area and to protect the evacuation route, the troops responded with light weapons fire and tanks to kill the terrorists
Earlier today, IDF higher jets struck “terror infrastructure sites” in Syria also in response to the attack toward the Golan Heights yesterday (Saturday November 11, 2023).
– global bihari bureau
