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al-shifa hospital
Bombing of Hospitals and Mass Slaughter of Civilians Continues in Gaza as Trump, Netanyahu Meet
"I'm getting messages from coworkers... they're telling me that they're going to die," said an American nurse who spent the last three months volunteering in Gaza.
Sep 29, 2025
The Israeli military unleashed its latest wave of attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gaza as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement.
Al-Jazeera reported on Sunday that Israel launched strikes against the al-Shifa Hospital and the Al Helou Hospital, as well as a "multi-story residential building" and parts of Gaza City's port area.
"Doctors inside al-Shifa Hospital on Sunday described 'horrific scenes' as many were forced to flee despite needing urgent care," Al-Jazeera reported. "Hasan al-Sha'ir, the hospital’s medical director, said that staff have continued to work 'despite the harsh conditions and overwhelming fear.'"
According to Al-Jazeera's sources, at least 33 Palestinians have been killed in the strikes so far.
The United Nations Site Management Cluster on Monday estimated that nearly 58,000 Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza City over the span of just five days as the Israeli military began its invasion of the city, reported Middle East Eye.
Over the weekend, The Associated Press published a video interview with Andee Vaughan, an American nurse who spent three months volunteering at the Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza, who described the widespread destruction being wrought by Israel's military campaign in the exclave.
"Everything that I've seen as an emergency nurse has been purposeful," she said. "From the malnutrition, to the targeted shootings of civilians."
Vaughan went on to say that the medical establishment in Gaza "has been destroyed" and that the attacks on Gaza medical infrastructure "really became targeted" to the blocks surrounding the hospital where she worked starting late last week.
"I'm getting messages from coworkers... They're telling me that they're going to die," she said. "And they know that they're going to die."
The latest destruction in Gaza came hours before Netanyahu was scheduled to meet with Trump in the White House, where the US president reportedly plans to press him to accept a deal to end the war in Gaza.
Axios reported on Monday that Trump is prepared to pin the blame on Netanyahu if he doesn't accept his proposal, and will accuse him of "enabling Hamas and doing nothing for the Palestinians who have so many humanitarian needs."
Palestinian-American analyst Yousef Munayyer, however, was skeptical of any talk about a potential rift between Netanyahu and the Trump White House.
"This seems like bad news," he wrote on X. "Every time such reports of White House frustration get leaked to Axios, it is usually a set up for what is actually US-Israel collusion to keep the genocide going."
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, emphasized ahead of the meeting that "Trump could end Israel’s genocide in Gaza when he meets Netanyahu tomorrow—if he threatens to suspend U.S. military aid and arms sales."
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'A Pattern of Genocide': Report Details Israel's Systematic Destruction of Gaza Health System
The Palestinian group Al-Haq outlined the "targeting of hospitals and health centers, the denial of adequate medical provisions into and around the Gaza Strip, and the abduction, torture, and killing of medical personnel."
Jan 23, 2025
Less than a week into a fragile cease-fire between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq on Thursday released a report detailing how "Israel has systematically targeted and attacked the healthcare system to the point of its collapse in a campaign of genocide."
The new report—titled The Systematic Destruction of Gaza's Healthcare System: A Pattern of Genocide—builds on previous publications, including from United Nations entities, and testimonies from medical professionals who have worked in Gaza since Israel launched its U.S.-backed assault in retaliation for the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack.
"The Israeli occupying forces' (IOF) targeting of hospitals and health centers, the denial of adequate medical provisions into and around the Gaza Strip, and the abduction, torture, and killing of medical personnel is evidence of Israel's genocidal intent to: (i) inflict conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and (ii) impose measures intended to prevent Palestinian births in the Gaza Strip," states the 116-page report.
"The concerted policy to destroy the healthcare system in Gaza is directly and causally linked to statements made by Israeli officials," the document continues, offering various examples and highlighting how it wasn't just hospitals—Israel also attacked "civilian residences, schools, shelters, mosques, churches, and other protected areas under international humanitarian law."
The report argues that "Israel's systematic campaign against Gaza's healthcare infrastructure as a whole is exemplified by the targeted destruction of al-Shifa Hospital," which is the largest hospital in the occupied Palestinian territory and "older than Israel." The document also addresses Israel's attacks on Adwan, al-Amal, al-Aqsa, al-Awda, Indonesian, Kamal, and Nasser hospitals.
Along with offering a summary of facts and legal analysis of "Israel's systematic attacks on Gaza's healthcare system as acts of genocide," war crimes, and violations of international humanitarian law, the publication features recommendations for other countries and blocs, international tribunals, U.N. experts, companies, and healthcare professionals.
Al-Haq called on the international community to "name and condemn Israel's ongoing genocide," impose an arms embargo, support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and demand the release of Palestinian political prisoners and those who have been arbitrarily detained by Israel, including healthcare workers.
The report was published as the death toll in Gaza continues to grow, as displaced residents of the Palestinian enclave return to the remnants of their homes and communities decimated by more than 15 months of Israeli bombings and raids.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Thursday that the official death toll rose to 47,283, after 120 bodies "were recovered from under the rubble" in the past 24 hours, and 111,472 people have been injured. Global experts warn the true death toll is likely far higher.
Israel faces a genocide case led by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its military assault and restrictions on the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
Al-Haq's report notes both the ICC warrants and the ICJ case, urging other governments to formally support the latter effort.
Throughout the 15-month assault on Gaza, Israeli settlers and troops also targeted Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank—where Al-Haq is based. However, since the cease-fire took effect Sunday, attacks in the West Bank have sparked fresh alarm.
In addition to pushing for the investigation of Israel's assault on Gaza, the new report urges a U.N. commission to probe "genocidal acts in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, including but not limited to killings of Palestinians, causing serious bodily or mental harm to Palestinians, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Palestinian people."
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'We Lost Everything, But We Are Still Standing': Letters from Gaza
None of those who communicated with me throughout the war have ever questioned their faith, and have often, if not always, begun their messages by checking on me, and my children.
Jan 07, 2025
Over the past 14 months, I have received hundreds of messages from family members throughout the Gaza Strip. The nature of the messages often conveyed a sense of urgency and panic but, at times, contentment in God's will.
Some of those who wrote these notes have been killed in Israeli strikes, like my sister, Dr. Soma Baroud; others lost children, siblings, cousins, neighbors, and friends. It may seem strange that none of those who communicated with me throughout the war have ever questioned their faith, and have often, if not always, begun their messages by checking on me, and my children.
The samples of the messages below have been edited for length and clarity.
Ibrahim:
"How are you? We are all fine. We had to leave Shati [refugee camp]. The Israelis arrived at the camp yesterday. Our whole neighborhood has been destroyed. Our home, too, was destroyed. Alhamdulillah—praise be to God."
Soma:
"How are you? And how are the kids? Times like these make me realize that no material wealth matters. Only the love of one's family and community matters most. We had to flee Qarara [east of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza]; the boys fled further south, and I am in Deir Al-Balah with my daughter and grandson. I don't know what happened to H [her husband]. The army bulldozers began destroying the neighborhood while we were still inside. We ran away in the middle of the night."
I wanted to help, but I could do nothing. I kept walking from one body to the next, holding hands and looking into dying eyes.
A'esha:
"E [her husband] was killed on the first day of the invasion. A [her son] disappeared after he learned that his father was killed. He said he wanted to avenge his father. I am worried. I don't know what to do."
Salwa:
"Cousin, A'esha's son, A, was killed [he was 19]. He was fighting in Jabaliya. She is somewhere in Rafah with her surviving kids. Her newborn has a congenital heart defect. Do you know of any charity that can help her? She lives in a tent without food or water."
Ibrahim:
"We escaped to al-Shifa [hospital in Gaza City]. Then, the Israelis invaded. They took all the men outside and had us stand in line. They spared me. I don't know why. All the men were executed. Nasser's son [his nephew] was killed in front of me. We are still trapped at al-Shifa."
Soma:
"My husband was killed, brother. That poor soul had no chance. His illness had prevented him from running away on time. Someone says he saw his body after he was shot by a drone. He was hit in the head. But when we went back to the place, we couldn't find him. There was a massive heap of rubble and garbage. We dug and dug day and night, to no avail. I just want to give him a proper burial."
A'esha:
"Did Salwa message you about the charity? My baby is dying. I named her Wafa' after her auntie [26, who was killed in the first few weeks of the war along with her son Zaid, five, and husband, Mohammed, in Gaza City]. She can barely breathe. Some people are allowed to leave Gaza through Rafah. They say the UAE accepts some of the wounded and sick. Please help me."
Walid:
"Have you heard anything about the cease-fire? We ran away back to the center of Gaza, after we were forced to flee south. They [the Israeli army] said 'Go to the safe zones.' Then, they killed the displaced inside their tents. I saw my neighbors burning alive. I am too old [he is 75]. Please tell me that the war is about to end."
Ibrahim:
"How are you, cousin? I just wanted to tell you that Nasser [his brother] was killed. He was standing in line waiting for a loaf of bread in Zeitoun. After the martyrdom of his sons, he became responsible for the grandchildren as well. They [the Israelis] bombed the crowd as they waited for the aid trucks. The explosion severed his arm. He bled to death."
Soma:
"I was in Nuseirat when the massacre happened [278 people were killed and over 800 wounded on June 8]. I walked through the area not knowing the extent of the bloodbath. I was on my way back to Qarara to check on the kids. Bodies were strewn everywhere. They were mostly mutilated, though some were still groaning, desperately grasping onto life. I wanted to help, but I could do nothing. I kept walking from one body to the next, holding hands and looking into dying eyes. I worked in the emergency room for many years. But at that moment I felt helpless. I felt that I, too, had died on that day."
[Dr. Soma was killed in an Israeli strike targeting her car on October 9. She had just left the hospital, where she worked, to check on her sons.]
Ibrahim:
"My condolences, cousin, for the martyrdom of your sister. She will always remain the pride of our family."
A'esha:
"Wafa' died this morning in our tent in Al-Musawi. There was no medicine. No food. No milk. My only solace is that she is now an angel in Paradise."
Walid:
"How are you, cousin? We are okay. We lost everything, but we are still standing. Alhamdulillah. Do you know when the war will be over? Maybe another week, or two? I am just too old, and so, so tired."
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