In light of reports of “heavy bombing” near the complex, Doctors Without Borders reported that it has lost communication with its staff inside Al-Shifa Hospital, the main healthcare facility in Gaza.
The attacks against Al-Shifa Hospital have significantly increased in intensity over the past few hours. in 3:43 a.m. Gaza time, the humanitarian organization stated in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “staff from Doctors Without Borders at the hospital reported a catastrophic situation inside.”
The Al-Shifa Hospital personnel and patients, some of whom were in critical condition and unable to move or flee, were the subject of the group’s grave concerns.
“A patient need surgery at this time. In our department, there is a patient who has fallen asleep already. We can’t leave these individuals inside while we evacuate. Surgeon Mohammed Obeid at the hospital was quoted by the group as saying, “As a doctor, I swear to help the people who need help.”
From the start of Israel’s military assault last month, communications within Gaza have occasionally been lost; these failures are frequently caused by extensive network outages or power shortages.
Some background: Israeli attacks have been reported close to Al-Shifa Hospital; videos of heavy bombing in the vicinity of the complex have been posted online by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah and hospital staff.
A spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed on Friday that 20 facilities in the Gaza Strip were “out of action” and that al-Shifa was “coming under bombardment.”
In response to a question during a briefing on Friday on a possible Israeli airstrike on the al-Shifa hospital, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris stated, “We know they are being bombarded, but I don’t have the details on al-Shifa.”
An earlier attack on the hospital, according to the Israeli military, was caused by a “misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip.”
A week ago, Israel attacked an ambulance outside the hospital, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and 50 injuries. According to Israeli officials, Hamas was using the car.
Israel has threatened to attack Hamas “wherever necessary” and charges that the group has incorporated itself into civilian infrastructure.
