A year after the start of the genocide in Gaza, survivors of the destruction of al-Shifa hospital recount the tragedy.
More than a year after Israel’s most brutal attack on Gaza began, much of the besieged enclave has been destroyed, including many schools and hospitals. Last year, when the war had just begun, we visited Gaza’s largest and most important hospital – al-Shifa – as it was in danger of collapsing following the Israeli siege on the water and fuel. The electricity was about to fail and al-Shifa was on the verge of collapse.
Today, more than a year later, we return to the hospital that treated so many Palestinians during so many attacks on Gaza. Al-Shifa Hospital is now an empty shell after the last siege. No patients remain in the facility. Most buildings are severely damaged or destroyed and the majority of equipment is unusable or reduced to ashes. The scale of the damage left the facility completely non-functional, further reducing access to vital healthcare in Gaza. Restoring even minimal functionality in the short term seems implausible, but with a partial reopening it is not impossible.
The hospital’s emergency department as well as the surgical and maternity department buildings were significantly damaged by explosives and fires. The west wall of the emergency department and the north wall of the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) were demolished. At least 115 beds in what was once the emergency department were burned and 14 NICU incubators destroyed, among other assets.
Many shallow graves were dug just outside the emergency department and administrative and surgical buildings. In the same area, many bodies were partially buried with their limbs visible, as the smell of rotting flesh filled the hospital grounds.
According to the hospital’s acting director, patients were held in appalling conditions during the siege. They suffered a severe lack of food, water, health care, hygiene and sanitation, and were forced to move between buildings at gunpoint.
This film will highlight the devastation of al-Shifa Hospital and what it means for Gaza’s healthcare system.
Credits:
A film by Zainab Walji
Edited by Jameel Hodzic
Filmed by Media Town in Gaza