Infants, wrapped in blankets and arranged on a bed after being taken out of incubators, now symbolize the impact of the Israeli siege on hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical facility, has been forced to close due to fuel and medicine shortages, leading to the death of at least 32 patients, including six premature babies, in the last three days, according to Palestinian Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra. The hospital, once a place of healing, has become a scene of death and despair, as reported by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Israeli siege, which began on October 7 in response to a Hamas attack, has left hospitals in northern Gaza non-functional, with over 11,000 people, mostly women and children, killed in relentless air strikes. Al-Shifa Hospital, with around 650 patients and 500 health workers, is surrounded by Israeli forces, urging people to leave. However, the dire situation inside the hospital continues to worsen, with babies in incubators facing the risk of death.
“Patients are dying by the minute – even babies in the incubators,” al-Shifa Hospital Director Muhammad Abu Salmiya was quoted as saying in Al Jazeera report on November 11.
Staff have been forced to line up premature babies on ordinary beds, using the little power available to run the air conditioning to keep them warm. “We are expecting to lose more of them day by day,” Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati, a doctor working at the hospital, told reporters.
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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported three nurses were killed at the hospital on Friday.
Hamas denied that it refused the fuel and said the hospital was under the authority of Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Israeli forces have targeted hospitals in Gaza, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes. But Hamas and hospital officials have denied that assertion.
Independent doctors including British-Palestinian doctor Ghassan Abu-Sitta, who is at al-Shifa, and Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who has worked at the hospital previously, have said that they have not seen any evidence of military activity at the hospital during the war.
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Palestinian officials and people inside the hospital have reported Israeli forces directly targeting the medical complex with munitions and snipers.
Moreover, the al-Ahli Arab Hospital and al-Quds Hospital have faced attacks, with al-Quds struggling to care for patients under ongoing Israeli bombardment. Hospitals like al-Nasr Children’s Hospital, al-Rantisi Specialised Hospital for Children, Kamal Adwan Hospital, Indonesian Hospital, al-Awda Hospital, and the Turkish-Palestine Friendship Hospital have either stopped functioning or are operating at a fraction of their capacity due to lack of medical aid, fuel, and medicines.
The situation is dire, with the breakdown of Gaza’s healthcare system, a severe humanitarian crisis, and international calls for a ceasefire to address the escalating tragedy.
