The head of Al Shifa Hospital, Mohammad Abu Salmiyah, revealed on Tuesday that 179 people, including babies, had been buried in a “mass grave” within the hospital’s grounds. This highlights the dire humanitarian situation in the area. The hospital director stated, “We had no choice but to bury them in a mass grave.”
The hospital’s fuel supply ran out, leading to the burial of 29 patients from the intensive care unit and seven babies. “The hospital complex has bodies all over it. The electricity has stopped.”
A journalist, who is collaborating with AFP, said the stench of decomposing bodies was everywhere. A surgeon at the hospital, working with Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, called the situation “inhuman”. “We don’t have electricity. There’s no water. There’s no food.”
Tel Aviv maintains that the hospital is situated atop a network of tunnels that are a part of Hamas’ underground headquarters. The Al Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza City, was cut off from the outside world for more than 72 hours last week following a deadly blockade by Israeli forces that included tanks at the front gates.
The terror group is alleged by Israel to have used hospitals and patients as human shields; Hamas and Gaza health officials have refuted this accusation. In a different incident, Israel reported that they had found a tunnel from the residence of a known Hamas operative that led into another hospital.
The United Nations believes thousands, and perhaps more than 10,000 – including patients, staff and displaced civilians – may be inside Al Shifa and unable to escape because of fierce fighting nearby.
Al Quds, a second major hospital in the area, has been cut off from the world for a week.
Hospitals, and medical personnel, are protected under international humanitarian law and parties in conflict must ensure their protection. They cannot be used to shield military objectives from attack, but any operation around or within must protect patients, staff, and other civilians, the United Nations’ Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its Monday update from Gaza.
Israel had promised to assist in the babies’ evacuation. That hasn’t occurred thus far.
The same hospital released a heartbreaking photo earlier today showing seven babies bundled up, some with tubes protruding from them and others dressed in plain green hospital clothes.
The seven, who collectively weigh less than 1.5 kg, are among the 39 prematurely born babies. In order to control body temperature, each should be housed in an incubator. Since there isn’t enough fuel to run the generators that power the incubators, they were instead moved to regular beds over the weekend, where they were arranged side by side and covered with napkin packets and cardboard boxes filled with sterile gauze.
The head of pediatrics, Dr. Mohamed Tabasha, told Reuters on Monday, “I had 39 babies yesterday, and I have 36 today.” I have no idea how long they might endure. I could lose two more babies today, or even in an hour.”
By the end of the day three more (and nine adult patients) had died, AFP reported.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the assault has already killed 11,240 people, most of whom are civilians and at least 40 per cent of whom were children.
Israel has vowed “vengeance” for the Hamas’ October 7 terror attack that killed over 1,200, including children, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under growing international pressure – after many Western nations first refused to openly criticise Tel Aviv for its brutal attacks.
In the face of that pressure, Israel has agreed to daily pauses in military operations around specified humanitarian “corridors” to allow civilians to flee fighting. However, Israel has so far resisted calls for a broader ceasefire, insisting this will not be allowed before all of the Hamas’ hostages are released.
