Israel has destroyed Gaza’s biggest hospital and the World Health Organization’s missions to visit the site have been rejected
02 April 2024 - 14:44
byGabrielle Tétrault-Farber
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Palestinians inspect the damages at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on April 1 2024. Israeli forces withdrew from the hospital and the surrounding area after a two-week operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Picture: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS
Geneva — Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s biggest hospital in a raid over the past two weeks has ripped the heart out of the enclave’s healthcare system, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Israeli forces left Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after the two-week operation by special forces, who detained hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants and left a wasteland of destroyed buildings.
Israel said it killed hundreds of Hamas fighters who had based themselves there; Hamas and medical staff deny fighters were present.
“We’ve had contact with the staff. The directors told us that Al-Shifa Hospital is gone. It’s no longer able to function in any shape or form as a hospital,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris.
“Destroying Al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system.”
The WHO is hoping to send a mission on Tuesday to the site to see what it can do to save the lives of the remaining patients. Harris said she did not have information about whether Israel had granted permission to carry out such a mission.
“We’ve been trying to go for days and days and days,” she said. “Most of our missions were rejected.”
Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the war, was one of the few healthcare facilities that had been partially operational in the north of enclave before the raid.
Palestinian officials called the assault on a hospital treating severely wounded patients a war crime.
Israel says Hamas deliberately operates among vulnerable civilians.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Gaza’s Shifa hospital is no more, says WHO
Israel has destroyed Gaza’s biggest hospital and the World Health Organization’s missions to visit the site have been rejected
Geneva — Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s biggest hospital in a raid over the past two weeks has ripped the heart out of the enclave’s healthcare system, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Israeli forces left Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after the two-week operation by special forces, who detained hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants and left a wasteland of destroyed buildings.
Israel said it killed hundreds of Hamas fighters who had based themselves there; Hamas and medical staff deny fighters were present.
“We’ve had contact with the staff. The directors told us that Al-Shifa Hospital is gone. It’s no longer able to function in any shape or form as a hospital,” said WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris.
“Destroying Al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system.”
The WHO is hoping to send a mission on Tuesday to the site to see what it can do to save the lives of the remaining patients. Harris said she did not have information about whether Israel had granted permission to carry out such a mission.
“We’ve been trying to go for days and days and days,” she said. “Most of our missions were rejected.”
Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital before the war, was one of the few healthcare facilities that had been partially operational in the north of enclave before the raid.
Palestinian officials called the assault on a hospital treating severely wounded patients a war crime.
Israel says Hamas deliberately operates among vulnerable civilians.
Reuters
Israeli troops exit Gaza’s shattered al-Shifa Hospital
ICJ orders Israel to halt spreading famine in Gaza
Tens of thousands in Jerusalem march in protest
Israel recalls team from Doha, blames Hamas for ‘dead end’ Gaza talks
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Israeli troops exit Gaza’s shattered al-Shifa Hospital
Iran vows retaliation after Damascus embassy targeted
Tens of thousands in Jerusalem march in protest
ICJ orders Israel to halt spreading famine in Gaza
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh heads to Iran for second meeting in six months
Israel recalls team from Doha, blames Hamas for ‘dead end’ Gaza talks
Netanyahu coalition under strain
UN Security Council gives nod to resolution for immediate Gaza ceasefire
Fresh push for Gaza ceasefire
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.