Staff at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital buried dozens of patients in a mass grave, hospital officials say, as thousands of Palestinians remain trapped in the facility surrounded by Israeli forces .
“There are bodies strewn around the hospital complex and there is no electricity in the morgues,” al-Shifa hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiya told the AFP news agency on Tuesday. . “We were forced to bury them in a mass grave. »
He said 179 bodies had been buried so far in the yard and that seven babies and 29 intensive care patients were among those who had died since fuel for the hospital’s generator failed on Saturday.
Israeli forces have surrounded the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital, which Israel says sits atop a tunnel complex and command center used by fighters from the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, who governs Gaza.
Hamas denied the presence of fighters and said 650 patients and 5,000 to 7,000 displaced civilians were trapped in the hospital compound and under constant fire from snipers and drones.
The United States said it “has information that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are using certain hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa, and the tunnels below to conceal and support their military operations and to hold prisoners.” hostages,” according to the National Security Council. spokesman John Kirby.
He said members of the two Palestinian groups “operate a command and control node from al-Shifa in Gaza City” and store weapons there.
Kirby has presented no evidence to support his claims, which echo allegations made, also without evidence, by Israel.
“To be clear, we do not support an airstrike against a hospital. We don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent, defenseless and sick people are simply trying to get the medical care they deserve,” Kirby said.
The United Nations estimates that at least 2,300 people – patients, staff and displaced civilians – are inside and may not be able to escape due to the fierce fighting.
Deteriorating conditions in Gaza’s hospitals have been a source of tension between Israel and its allies during the Israeli assault and siege on Gaza, which cut off access to fuel.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden said he hoped to see “less intrusive actions regarding hospitals”.
The United Nations said 22 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are not functional due to lack of fuel for generators, damage and fighting.
“The 14 hospitals remaining open barely have enough supplies to perform critical and life-saving surgeries and provide inpatient care, including intensive care,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said in the Palestinian Territories .
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said Tuesday that the Israeli proposal to move babies from al-Shifa Hospital with portable incubators did not result in a concrete plan.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said moving sick and vulnerable patients out of hospital was an “impossible task”.
“And again, why would you need to move them?” she asked. “A hospital should never be attacked. A hospital is a place of refuge. This is agreed under international humanitarian law.
Israel denied the hospital was under siege and said it was allowing people inside the hospital to escape. Medical staff and health officials at the hospital rejected the claim and said the Israeli fire posed additional danger to the performance of their medical duties.
“The occupation continues to besiege the hospital and occasionally fire on the courtyards,” al-Qudra said. “We still can’t travel, but sometimes doctors take risks when they have to take care of their patients. »
Israel bombarded Gaza and launched a ground offensive after Hamas fighters from the territory carried out an attack on southern Israel last month, killing more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.
The Israeli assault killed more than 11,200 people, including more than 4,600 children, according to Palestinian officials.
