Strikes Hit Gaza’s Largest Hospital, Wounding and Displacing Patients and Civilians

Gaza City– Strikes hit the vicinity of Gaza’s largest hospital on Friday, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian health officials. The attack also forced many displaced civilians who had sought refuge in the hospital grounds to flee yet again amid the devastating war.

The Israeli military claimed responsibility for one of the strikes, saying it targeted an ambulance that was carrying militants near Al-Shifa Hospital, the main medical facility in the besieged enclave. A senior Israeli security official told NBC News that the strike resulted from a projectile launched by a militant group inside Gaza that misfired.

Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, denied the Israeli claim and accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians and medical staff. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the strike was a “war crime” and vowed to retaliate.

Witnesses and videos posted on social media showed scenes of bloodshed and desperation at Al-Shifa Hospital, where injured people, including children, lay on the ground or were carried away by paramedics. Some of the victims were patients or staff of the hospital’s outpatient clinic, which was hit by shrapnel.

Dr. Marwan Abu Saada, a surgeon and the head of International Cooperation at the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, told NBC News that the hospital had been bombed at least four times, and that he had heard shooting outside throughout the day.

“We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave,” he said. “We do not have electricity, no oxygen for the patients, we do not have medicine and water. We do not know our fate.”

WHO is Deeply Concerned

The World Health Organization said it was “deeply concerned” by the reports of attacks on health facilities and personnel in Gaza, and called for their protection and respect under international humanitarian law.

“Health workers and facilities are not a target. They must be protected at all times,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said in a statement.

The strikes on Al-Shifa Hospital were part of a wider Israeli offensive that has intensified in the past week, as ground troops and tanks advanced into Gaza City and the northern parts of the Strip. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas’s tunnel network, rocket launchers, and command centers, and that it was doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties.

But Palestinian officials and human rights groups have accused Israel of using disproportionate and indiscriminate force, and of failing to distinguish between military and civilian targets. According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 12,000 injured since the conflict began on Oct. 29. The UN estimates that at least half of the casualties are civilians, including more than 6,000 children.

Israel says it has lost 12 soldiers and two civilians in the fighting, and that hundreds of rockets fired by Hamas and other militant groups have been intercepted by its Iron Dome defense system or landed in open areas. Israel also blames Hamas for endangering civilians by using them as human shields and launching rockets from densely populated areas.

The UN Security Council has failed to agree on a resolution to end the violence, as the US, Israel’s main ally, has blocked several attempts to issue a statement calling for a ceasefire. The US says it supports Israel’s right to self-defense, and that it is working diplomatically to de-escalate the situation.

Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 100,000 people have been displaced by the fighting, according to the UN. Many of them have sought shelter in schools, mosques, or hospitals, but none of these places are safe from the Israeli strikes.

Al-Shifa Hospital, which has a capacity of 700 beds, has been overwhelmed by the influx of wounded and displaced people, and has been struggling to cope with the lack of supplies, staff, and space. The hospital also faces the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak, as social distancing and infection prevention measures are impossible to maintain.

The hospital’s director, Dr. Ayman al-Sahbani, told CNN that he feared the worst if the situation did not improve soon.

“We are living in a nightmare,” he said. “We don’t know if we will survive the next hour or the next day.”