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View around Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after an Israeli missile attack on October 18, 2023. Photo/CNN
GAZA JALUR – Israeli warplanes circle while their tanks surround hospitals in the Gaza Strip as health facilities increasingly become the target of attacks.
The attack on the hospital complex not only affected thousands of patients but also some 122,000 Palestinian refugees who had taken refuge in the facility during Israel’s unrelenting bombardment.
On Friday, threats to many hospitals in Gaza increased.
The following is the condition of hospitals in the Gaza Strip which were the targets of Israeli attacks as quoted from Al Jazeera, Saturday (11/10/2023).
Which Hospital Is Surrounded by Tanks?
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israeli tanks on Friday surrounded four hospitals from all directions. The hospitals are al-Rantisi Hospital, al-Nasr Hospital, and eye and mental health hospitals.
Around 1,000 people seek shelter in al-Rantisi, the only hospital in Gaza that specializes in treating children with cancer. Israel recently attacked vehicles outside al-Rantisi, which is located in northern Gaza.
A video appearing on social media, apparently taken by people inside the hospital, shows them unsure whether to evacuate considering people fleeing the danger zone were bombed.
“Israel ignores the international community and continues to commit crimes against hospitals, health centers and shelters throughout the Gaza Strip,” Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said in a statement quoted by the Wafa news agency.
Al-Shifa Hospital, Becomes Target of Bombing
The al-Shifa Hospital Complex, the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, was hit by an Israeli missile last night, and the attack was not just a one-off.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said on Friday that Israel had bombed the al-Shifa Hospital building five times since Thursday evening.
The hospital has been repeatedly targeted by Israel over the past month. World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Margaret Harris warned that hospitals were “under bombardment”.
“You could hear a lot of gunfire, and then you knew that the tanks were getting closer to al-Shifa Hospital,” Dr Ahmed Mokhallalati, an al-Shifa surgeon, told Al Jazeera.