Gaza’s hospitals have become a symbol of the suffering experienced by the people of Gaza. They are not safe even in medical centers. On the one hand, as the European Union denounces, they are used as a “human shield” by Hamas, and on the other hand, Israel attacks them and subjects them to a blockade that makes their further functioning impossible. Gaza’s two main hospitals, Al-Shifa and Al-Quds, have ceased operations. for new patients. Israeli troops have occupied the center of Al-Quds, from where the terrorist attacked them with an RPG, and are at the gates of Al-Shifa. US President Joe Biden has asked Israel to take “less intrusive” action and protect the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces surrounded all medical facilities in northern Gaza, including Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the city. The Israeli army claims that there is a Hamas operations center under this hospital. He even claims that terrorists are using the center’s energy supply. Even if this were true, international law does not protect attacks on defenseless civilians in hospitals.

“The world cannot remain silent as hospitals become places of death, devastation and despair.”

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director

World Health Organization (WHO) Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the situation in Al-Shifa is “dire and dangerous.” According to Ghebreyesus, “the world cannot remain silent while hospitals, which are usually places of safety, turn into places of death, devastation and despair.” And he confirmed that Al Shifa “is no longer functioning as a hospital.” At least 32 patients from Al Shifa, including three premature babies, have died due to lack of care at the center, which houses 650 patients, 500 health workers and some 2,500 displaced people.

All those who could leave: At the weekend there were 1,500 patients, 1,500 staff and 7,000 displaced people. They placed the babies side by side on stretchers covered with aluminum foil and wrapped in bushes to maintain their body temperature.

Dr Mohamed Tabasha, head of pediatrics at Al Shifa Hospital, told Reuters: “There were 39 babies on Sunday and today there are 36. I can’t say how long they will live. Two of them are in serious danger. “In my life, I expected that I would put several babies next to each other in a crib, each with a different illness, and at the same time a serious shortage of medical personnel, milk, everything…”

Those inside say Israeli snipers are nearby, but Israel says it has provided a safe corridor for those who want to leave. The Israeli representative also said that they offered 300 liters of fuel to the hospital, but the authorities demanded that it be delivered by the Red Cross.

A Doctors Without Borders surgeon who is still in Al-Shifa Hospital says the situation is “inhumane.” He described how they live “without electricity, water or food. They also don’t have internet except in exceptional cases.”

People who depend on respirators will die in the next few hours if they continue to be cut off.” At the main entrance to the building there are many corpses and wounded who cannot be moved inside. For this reason, there is a risk of epidemics. “When we sent an ambulance to transport the wounded, it was attacked. The sniper attacked the patients,” he says.

We don’t want to abandon the wounded. “If they give us guarantees and evacuate patients, we will get out.”

MSF surgeon in Al Shifa

The medical team agreed to leave the hospital if the evacuation of patients was guaranteed. “We don’t want to abandon the wounded. A total of 600 people were admitted, of which 37 were infants, and there were also people who required intensive care unit. We cannot leave them,” says the MSF doctor. “If they give us guarantees and evacuate patients, we will leave.”

Another 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have also stopped accepting new patients, including the second largest Al-Quds Hospital. There are battles going on around this center. The Israeli army said its troops in Gaza were attacked by “a squad of terrorists hiding among a group of civilians at the entrance to a hospital.””. During this operation, 21 Palestinians were killed. Israeli troops were attacked with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. An Israeli army spokesman said the attack “is another example of Hamas’ continued abuse of civilian structures, including hospitals.”

This Monday, an attempt was made to evacuate the A-Quds hospital, where there is no light, water or food, but in the end it was not possible. An Israeli military spokesman assured that they do not intend to occupy hospitals, but rather force Hamas militants to surrender in order to seize their infrastructure.

The International Rescue Committee called for the protection of civilians and hospitals in the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the organization called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow health centers to “unimpededly carry out their humanitarian life-saving function.”

Bob Kitchen, IRC Director of Emergency Management, said: “Keeping hospitals safe and operational, and the safety of civilians with nowhere safe to flee, is not just a legal obligation; it is a moral imperative. Our Collective Humanity demands that we protect all those who are not fighting in war or working to save lives, even in the midst of chaos.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said this Monday that it will have to suspend all its operations in the Gaza Strip if fuel is not allowed to pass through Rafah. The head of UNRWA in Gaza, Thomas White, recalled that No fuel has arrived in Gaza since October 7.. That Saturday, Hamas carried out an unprecedented massacre in Israel. Terrorists crossed the Gaza Strip and killed at least 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 241 citizens of various nationalities. Israel responded by declaring war to destroy Hamas.

Israeli bombings have killed at least 11,240 people, including 4,630 children and 3,130 women, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The dead included at least 189 doctors, nurses and paramedics, as well as more than a hundred UN staff.

Growing pressure on Israel

The WHO has called for a ceasefire, something European governments have not yet demanded, although pressure is indeed mounting. French President Emmanuel Macron has shown the most determination so far. At a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, they called on Israel for a “humanitarian pause.” Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen confirmed that pressure on Israel is increasing. In Ireland, parliament is set to discuss the expulsion of Israeli Ambassador Dana Elrich.

High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell outlined the conditions that were laid out on the table for a peace plan the day after this war in the sector. “There must be no forced displacement of the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip; Arab states must participate in this, not only with their money for reconstruction, but also with their obligations; Gaza’s territory must not be reduced; The Palestinian Authority must be involved in this; more active participation of the EU in solving the problem is necessary; and the expulsion of Hamas from the Gaza Strip,” these will be the conditions.

Despite this, we are still far from the day when bombs stop falling on the Gaza Strip. In its latest report, Israel claims it carried out 4,300 attacks, which allowed it to destroy 300 tunnels and about 3,000 Hamas infrastructure. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his commitment to moving forward until Hamas is destroyed, no easy task. First of all, because the risk of opening a new front with Hezbollah increases every day.