Israeli forces have surrounded Gaza's largest hospital Al Shifa on Wednesday, which they say sits atop an underground headquarters of Hamas militants. The hospital houses not just patients but many Palestinian families who have been fleeing bombed-out homes to seek refuge in medical compounds believing them to be a safer alternative.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: "Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital." However, Hamas has denied that fighters are present in the hospital and said that 650 patients and 5,000-7,000 other displaced civilians are trapped inside the hospital grounds.
Al-Shifa Hospital, which is also tackling power cuts and a lack of fuel, is "nearly a cemetery", the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned. The hospital's manager said it was under a "blockade", and that dogs had started eating corpses.
On Saturday, health authorities said a blackout plunged Shifa Hospital into darkness and switched off life-saving equipment, killing several patients — including three of 39 premature babies. The 36 other premature babies, who weigh less than 1.5 kg (3.3 pounds) and with some as small as 700 to 800 grammes, were now lying side-by-side on ordinary beds, exposing them to infection and without any individual adjustments to humidity levels and temperatures, staff said, according to a report by Reuters.
Some 190 medical workers were among more than 11,000 Palestinians killed since the start of the war, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Ongoing Israeli bombardment has wrecked 31 ambulances and knocked 20 hospitals out of operation, the ministry said.
