Gaza’s medical facilities were in a state of chaos Friday amid reports of Israeli tanks surrounding health centers and a deadly strike at the enclave’s largest hospital.
Extremely graphic and disturbing videos have appeared online showing the aftermath of some kind of attack at al-Shifa—Gaza’s biggest hospital—in western Gaza City. Reuters has verified some of the footage showing several dead and wounded, including children, which appears to have been recorded in an outdoor area where displaced people were sleeping.
One video verified by The New York Times reportedly showed a projectile flying into the area where displaced people rested overnight. Screams can be heard after the strike and a man is seen lying on the ground with severe injuries to his leg.
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According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, between 50,000 and 60,000 people had taken shelter in and around the hospital. Palestinian officials blamed Israeli strikes for the devastation at al-Shifa and claimed dawn strikes had hit other hospitals. Parts of the Indonesian Hospital were damaged and vehicles outside the al-Rantisi cancer hospital were also hit, the officials said, according to Reuters.
Israel has not yet commented on the strikes, but maintains that it does not target civilians. The Israeli military has also accused Hamas of putting one of its main command centers in al-Shifa and of using other hospitals to shield other operational centers and ammunition stockpiles in order to deter attacks—claims which Hamas denies.
Gaza’s health ministry on Friday said that Israeli tanks have now surrounded four hospitals from all sides, specifically al-Rantisi Hospital, al-Nasr Hospital, Government Eyes Hospital and the Mental Health Hospital. The ministry said thousands of patients, displaced people, and medical staff are now trapped inside without food or water, according to Al Jazeera.
Al-Rantisi, Gaza’s only medical facility specializing in pediatric cancer treatment, had already stopped functioning Thursday after running out of fuel amid Israel’s siege. Some 38 Palestinian children suffering from kidney failure were put in mortal danger by the facility’s collapse, according to Al Jazeera.
World Health Organization spokesperson Margaret Harris told the media organization Friday that 20 hospitals in Gaza are now out of service. She said al-Shifa was coming “under bombardment,” adding that colleagues said there was “intense violence” at the site.
Since launching its strikes in Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 surprise Hamas attacks which killed 1,400 Israelis, Israel has ordered people in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south. Israel has described the instruction as a means of protecting civilians as it goes about its mission of destroying Hamas.
But Israeli strikes have continued to target areas in southern Gaza nevertheless, and some people are unable to leave the north. Israel claims Hamas has prevented some people from leaving through intimidation and roadblocks.
Ashraf Al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, claimed Israel had bombed al-Shifa hospital five times since Thursday night and said despite the danger, it’s impossible to clear the facility in its entirety.
“There is no way that we can evacuate, there is no practical way of doing it too,” he told Reuters. “We are talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 children in intensive care units, hundreds of wounded and patients, and tens of thousands of displaced people.”
As of Thursday, 10,812 Palestinians—including 4,412 children—have died in Israeli strikes since Oct. 7, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Barbara Leaf, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, on Wednesday told Congress the number of deaths in Gaza could be “even higher than are being cited.”
