Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip that the Israeli army invaded earlier this week, is running out of food and water. This is what doctor Ahmed El Mokhallati said to the Reuters news agency. The Israeli army has brought some food and water, but according to El Mokhallati it is “very, very minimal, not enough for 40 percent of the people here.”
The Israeli army raided the hospital because Hamas allegedly established its headquarters underneath it. The army yesterday shared images of a tunnel shaft and vehicle with weapons at the hospital, but there is no conclusive evidence of the presence of a command center or large-scale weapons storage. The Israeli army says that combing the large hospital will take some time.
“They found nothing,” says El Mokhallati. “They encountered zero resistance. Not one gunshot against them in the entire hospital.” Nevertheless, according to the doctor, the situation is ‘totally frightening’. “They shoot all the time, everywhere.”
On Monday, three newborn babies died in the hospital due to the hospital’s shortages. Mohamed Tabasha, head of the hospital’s pediatric department, said the remaining 36 babies were still alive. A spokesman for the Hamas-run Health Ministry said 24 patients had died in the past two days as essential medical equipment was left without power.
Maarten Albers
