On Saturday, Gaza's Deputy Health Minister, Youssef Abu Alreesh, reported that Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the Hamas-controlled enclave, is currently under attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Inside the hospital, there are 39 newborn babies in incubators, according to media reports.
“We have 39 newborns in the incubators. Those babies are fighting against death. We are totally stranded, cut off from the outside world and are left without any medical resources. We cannot even bury the dead,” Alreesh told Al Jazeera in an interview.
He said that this is the moment we have been warning the whole world of, all generators are off, all power sources are out.
“No one is able to move around the compound, snipers are stationed all over the place in addition to the drones that target and kill any moving person,” Alreesh said.
He said that ferocious gunfire can be heard within the vicinity of the hospital, the intensive care unit received a mortar shell a few minutes ago.
“Blood is everywhere, on the floor, we cannot even clean it,” the Deputy Health Minister told Al Jazeera.
Expressing concern, he emphasized that the Israeli killing machine continues its deadly actions, although the gravity of the situation is not receiving the attention it deserves. While the initial killings were prominently displayed on TV screens, the current atrocities seem to be unfolding without global scrutiny—no one is listening, and no one is watching. It appears as though the entire world is standing by in silence.
The director of the hospital conveyed to Al Jazeera that the medical complex is now entirely isolated, with any person in motion becoming a target for the Israeli forces. The dire situation in the hospital is worsening, and the challenges are exacerbated by the lack of attention and intervention from the international community.
Alreesh told Al Jazeerathat he is "speaking with whatever is left of my phone battery and after this we will be silent".
The head of the Palestine Red Crescent informed the UN Security Council that Gaza's hospitals are being intentionally targeted, a tactic aimed at coercing civilians to evacuate the area. Reports have surfaced regarding Israeli attacks near Al-Shifa Hospital, with online videos posted by staff and authorities illustrating intense bombing in the vicinity.
A spokesperson from the World Health Organization (WHO) stated on Friday that Al-Shifa Hospital was "coming under bombardment," contributing to the distressing revelation that 20 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were rendered "out of action."
In the early hours of Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported a failed missile launch by Gaza terrorists that struck Al-Shifa Hospital. The escalating situation raises concerns about the deliberate targeting of medical facilities, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In a post on X, the IDF's spokesperson in Arabic Avichay Adraee said that an analysis of the military's "operational systems indicates that sabotage elements fired rockets this morning targeting IDF forces operating near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City".
"According to IDF systems, rocket-propelled grenades hit the hospital. Therefore, according to the information available to the IDF, terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip are responsible for the failed missile launch that hit the hospital," he added.
The IDF contends that Hamas operates from tunnels beneath Al-Shifa. However, this allegation has been consistently denied by the militant group.
(With Agency Inputs)
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