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al-shifa hospital
'The Humanity Cohort': Med School Graduates Offer Hope in Gaza
Israel has waged a systematic campaign to destroy Gaza’s healthcare delivery and to kill or imprison healthcare professionals, but these 168 students persisted.
Dec 29, 2025
On Thursday, December 25, 2025, during Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians, 168 students graduated from medical school, in Gaza. Wearing their white coats, they stood in front of the ruined façade of what was formerly Gaza’s largest hospital, the al-Shifa Medical Complex. As a backdrop, the destroyed building realistically conveys perils the graduates faced while earning their medical degrees. Throughout the last two years of their studies, they risked assassination, injury, arrest, imprisonment, and torture, as well as attacks on their own family members.
Israel has waged a systematic campaign to destroy Gaza’s healthcare delivery and to kill or imprison healthcare professionals. From October of 2023 to October of 2025, The World Health Organization documented 687 Israeli attacks on Gazan healthcare facilities and 211 attacks on ambulances. These attacks killed 985 people. In the same time period, Israel detained over 306 healthcare workers.
Health Care Workers Watch—Palestine, a nongovernmental organization, reports that 95 Palestinian healthcare workers are still in prison, 80 of whom are from Gaza. Prisoners who have been released from detention report that doctors are singled out for particularly brutal treatment.
Among the 80 Gazan healthcare workers who are still detained is the former director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. On December 27, 2025, Dr. Abu Safiya began his second year of imprisonment.
In a better world, in a better future, we can hope that Palestinians graduating from medical school could assemble for an address delivered by Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya.
For over a year, prior to his incarceration, the Israeli military had subjected the Kamal Adwan hospital to repeated sieges and attacks. Dr. Abu Safiya and his staff, refusing to desert their patients, managed to increase the number of available beds in the hospital as theirs became one of the few hospitals still operating in northern Gaza.
On October 25, 2024, Israel raided the hospital, bombing its buildings, detaining many patients, and arresting all hospital staff, including Dr. Abu Safiya who was interrogated and released. On that same day, an Israeli drone attacked one of the hospital buildings and killed Dr. Abu Safiya’s 20-year-old son, Ibrahim. Dr. Abu Safiya buried his son on the hospital grounds and still refused to abandon the patients.
“The Israeli army does not know what it wants,” Dr. Abu Safiya told a reporter with the Electronic Intifada. “They detained me for a few hours and interrogated me about whether there were fighters inside the hospital, and demanded that I evacuate the hospital completely, but I refused and assured them that there were only patients inside the hospital. But 57 of the hospital’s medical staff were arrested... So we are suffering from a severe shortage of doctors, especially surgeons. Right now, we only have pediatricians—it is a huge challenge to work under these circumstances. I refused to leave the hospital and sacrifice my patients, so the army punished me by killing my son. I saw him die at the entrance gate—it was a great shock. I found a grave for him near one of the hospital’s walls, so that he could stay close to me.”
On December 27, 2024, when Israeli forces threatened to level the whole facility, Dr. Abu Safiya agreed to leave the hospital which was, by then, largely inoperable. An iconic video shows him, clad in his white coat, walking through the rubble toward two Israeli tanks.
He was held incommunicado, and then taken to the Sde Teiman prison, in the Negev desert, where he was interrogated and beaten before being transferred to the Ofer prison. There, he is held in solitary confinement. Only his lawyer has been allowed to visit him. She expresses rising alarm over his weight loss, inadequate healthcare, and frequent beatings.
Amnesty International says he has been forcibly disappeared and arbitrarily held without charge. Even though no charges have been brought against him, an Israeli court has extended his detention multiple times. On October 16, 2025, Israel’s Be'er Sheva District Court added an additional six months to his detention.
Who are the criminals? Israel and its partner, the United States, egregiously flaunt international law, committing numerous war crimes in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Dr. Abu Safiya endures daily punishments in return for his courageous dedication to serving victims of war.
In a better world, in a better future, we can hope that Palestinians graduating from medical school could assemble for an address delivered by Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. Together, they could uphold “the Humanity Cohort,” as the Gazan doctors who graduated in December 2025 call themselves, and safely commemorate the courageous healthcare workers who risked and lost their lives to care for patients during an Israeli genocide that is still ongoing. Confident that healthcare is never a crime, they could cite their fallen colleagues' historic and extraordinary adherence to the United Nation’s core mission, "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
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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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Critics Denounce Israel's Defense Against Genocide Charges as 'Dishonest Talking Points'
"The problem for Israel is that the world has seen what they've done," said one observer.
May 17, 2024
The arguments presented by Israeli representatives at the International Court of Justice on Friday were not unexpected, as the government faced a new set of hearings on the Israel Defense Forces' assault on Gaza, but observers said the legal team's defense of the country's actions in the Palestinian enclave were "hard to stomach" in light of mounting reports about the lack of humanitarian aid and the rising death toll.
Tamar Kaplan Tourgeman, principal deputy legal adviser of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Gilad Noam, the deputy attorney general for international law, presented Israel's arguments against South Africa's claim that the ICJ must stop the IDF's invasion of Rafah, from which 630,000 Palestinians have been forced to flee since Israel seized a border crossing there and began moving troops into residential neighborhoods.
More than 1 million people have been forcibly displaced to Rafah since October as Israel has decimated cities across Gaza in what it claims is an effort to target Hamas fighters—but which has killed at least 35,303 people, two-thirds of whom have been women and children. The World Food Program and the U.S. Agency for International Development have both said in recent weeks, following months of warnings from humanitarian groups, that famine has taken hold in parts of Gaza due to Israel's near-total blockade on humanitarian aid.
Tourgeman claimed that South Africa—which launched the genocide case against Israel in December—has turned "a blind eye to Israel's remarkable effort" to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza residents and said Israel has taken "proactive steps" to ensure medical care is still being provided. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) disputed the claims at a press briefing shortly after the hearing.
"The last medical supplies that we got in Gaza was before May 6," WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said at a U.N. press briefing, referring to the date Israel seized the Rafah crossing. "We don't have fuel. We have hospitals under evacuation order. We have a situation where we cannot move physically."
Al Jazeera journalist Tareq Abu Azzoum reported Friday that U.N. officials had confirmed no aid has come through either the Rafah or Karem Abu Salem crossings in recent days.
"That reflects how much Israel is working to erase truth and change the facts on the ground as it continues its relentless bombardment of Rafah and the Jabalia refugee camp," Abu Azzoum said.
Marc Owen Jones, associate professor of Middle East studies and digital humanities at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, accused Israel of using the ICJ hearing to promote "dishonest talking points" to the international community.
"This is why a lot of what it says comes across as completely dishonest—because it is completely dishonest," Jones told Al Jazeera. "There is a difference between the reality on the ground and what Israel is trying to present to the international community... The aid situation is desperate."
Kate Stegeman, a policy and advocacy consultant in South Africa, said it was "particularly hard to stomach" Israel's denial that civilians and medical staffers were killed by the IDF at Al-Shifa Hospital, one of the facilities where multiple mass graves have been found containing hundreds of bodies, including those of women and children.
This part is particularly hard to stomach: in response to concerning allegations of numerous war crimes perpetrated amid Israel’s March military operation at Al Shifa hospital, Kaplan Tourgeman categorically denies any patients or medical staff were killed by the IDF #Gaza #ICJ pic.twitter.com/MUW3Cschzb
— Kate Stegeman (@KatesCurious) May 17, 2024
Tourgeman also focused part of her defense on statements made by Israeli officials about their objectives in Gaza. She claimed that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Gaza must not pose a threat to Israel and when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the military operates "neighborhood by neighborhood" and will reach every location in Gaza, they were speaking expressly about Hamas.
The legal adviser did not mention Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's recent call for the "total annihilation" of Rafah and other cities, Gallant's statement that he had "released all the restraints" on the military, or a former intelligence chief's comment in October that "the 'noncombatant population' in the Gaza Strip is really a nonexistent term," among other statements.
While the Israeli representatives claimed the country "has been and remains committed to acting in accordance with its international legal obligations," said one critic, "the problem for Israel is that the world has seen what they've done."
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UN Rights Chief Demands International Probe of Mass Graves Near Gaza Hospitals
"Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law," said Volker Türk, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
Apr 23, 2024
The United Nations' human rights chief on Tuesday called for an international investigation into mass graves discovered at two Gaza hospitals that Israeli forces recently assailed and destroyed, further imperiling the enclave's barely functioning healthcare system.
Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said in a statement that he was "horrified" by the discovery of mass graves at the Nasser and al-Shifa medical complexes, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reduced to ruins.
More than 300 bodies were reportedly discovered in the mass grave near the Nasser facility in Khan Younis, Gaza, and eyewitnesses said Israeli soldiers executed civilians during their two-week-long raid of al-Shifa last month.
Türk demanded an "independent, effective, and transparent" probe into the killings and mass graves, adding that "given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators."
"Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law," he added. "And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime."
"Every 10 minutes a child is killed or wounded. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price."
The IDF's destructive attacks on Nasser and al-Shifa were part of a broader Israeli assault on Gaza's healthcare system. An analysis released Monday by Save the Children found that the rate of monthly Israeli attacks on healthcare in Gaza since October has exceeded that of any other conflict around the world since 2018.
The group estimated that Israel has launched an average of 73 attacks per month on healthcare in Gaza—and at least 435 attacks total since October.
"After six months of unimaginable horror, the healthcare system in Gaza has been brought to its knees," said Xavier Joubert, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territory. "Healthcare workers are risking their lives daily to give Palestinian children a chance at survival. The constant attacks on healthcare are simply unjustifiable and must stop. Palestinian children must have unimpeded access to services, including healthcare and education."
Türk also used his statement Tuesday to condemn Israeli forces' killing of women and children in airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in recent days. The human rights official noted that Gaza doctors rescued a baby from the womb of her mother as the latter succumbed to head injuries from an Israeli strike.
"The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed—this is beyond warfare," said Türk. "Every 10 minutes a child is killed or wounded. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war."
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Israeli Assault Turned Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital Into 'Mass Graveyard'
"This is part of the genocidal machine," said one surgeon who volunteered at the hospital. "The genocide can only take place if the health system is destroyed."
Apr 01, 2024
The Israeli military withdrew from Gaza's largest medical facility on Monday after a deadly two-week assault that left the only partially functioning hospital complex in famine-stricken northern Gaza in total ruins.
Israel's military, which a United Nations expert has accused of waging an "unrelenting war" on Gaza's healthcare system, claimed in a statement that it killed 200 "terrorists" inside and around the facility and arrested more than 500 people "associated with terrorist organizations" during its prolonged raid on al-Shifa.
The military did not provide evidence that those killed were militants; Israel has repeatedly been accused of labeling unarmed civilians "terrorists."
According to eyewitness accounts of the raid, Israeli soldiers abused and executed civilians inside the al-Shifa complex, including more than a dozen children. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said last week that its field team "received identical testimonies about the killings and executions of Palestinian children between the ages of four and 16" in and around the hospital.
Photographs taken in the aftermath of Israel's assault show al-Shifa buildings scorched, riddled with bullet holes, and reduced to rubble. The hospital's emergency, surgical, and obstetrics wards were reportedly devastated by Israeli forces, and an unknown number of bodies are believed to be trapped under building ruins.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday that Israel's siege of the hospital killed at least 21 patients and left dozens of critically ill or wounded Gazans without "necessary means of care—no diapers, urine bags, water to clean wounds."
Al-Shifa hospital in #Gaza this morning, following the end of the latest Israeli siege.
I repeat: hospitals must be respected and protected; they must not be used as battlefields. pic.twitter.com/gcABzSxrqx
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 1, 2024
Hossam Shabat, a Palestinian journalist reporting from northern Gaza, said he witnessed "hundreds of bodies" outside of the hospital when he visited the compound on Monday.
"The bodies were in horrific conditions; many had their hands and legs tied behind their backs and were flattened by a bulldozer," Shabat
wrote on social media. "Many of the bodies were burned and left to be crushed to pieces. Several bodies were decomposed and partly eaten by stray dogs. Most of the bodies were unrecognizable; families could only identify them by their clothes."
"Al-Shifa Hospital was considered the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, catering to many complex cases," Shabat added. "It has been completely destroyed; they burned it down and destroyed all medical equipment. Israeli occupation forces [have] one goal and it’s to destroy every inch of Gaza."
Al Shifa, Gaza's biggest hospital, a place of hope and healing. Turned to a burned out husk by Israel's marauding army.
There must be accountability for this crime. A shame on every politician who has failed to oppose this. pic.twitter.com/9caozTiCZH
— Rohan Talbot (@rohantalbot) April 1, 2024
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a surgeon who volunteered at al-Shifa, told Democracy Now! in an interview on Monday that prior to Israel's assault on the hospital, al-Shifa "was 30% of the capacity of the health system in Gaza." Israel raided the facility for the first time in November, and its latest attack began on March 18.
"The destruction of Shifa, the wanton destruction of Shifa, is a critical component of Israel's plan to genocidally make sure that Gaza becomes an uninhabitable place, even after a cease-fire happens," said Abu Sitta. "By destroying Shifa and making sure it is irreparable, the Israelis are trying to make sure that for years to come, Gaza does not have a functioning health system."
Abu Sitta went on to criticize Western journalists for helping Israel perpetuate the narrative that al-Shifa was used by Hamas as a "command center" and thus an "acceptable" target.
"This is part of the genocidal machine," said Abu Sitta. "The genocide can only take place if the health system is destroyed."
Israeli troops have left Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, after a brutal two-week raid that left much of the complex in ruins and killed many civilians and medical staff there. “This is part of the genocidal machine," says Dr. @GhassanAbuSitt1, who has volunteered at Al-Shifa. pic.twitter.com/hwY6Gv4po1
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) April 1, 2024
Reuters described al-Shifa in the aftermath of the Israeli military's two-week raid as a "wasteland of destroyed buildings" with "Palestinian bodies scattered in the dirt."
Ismail al-Thawabta, director of Gaza's media office, said in a statement Monday that Israeli forces "destroyed and burnt all buildings inside al-Shifa medical complex."
"They bulldozed the courtyards, burying dozens of bodies of martyrs in the rubble, turning the place into a mass graveyard," said al-Thawabta. "This is a crime against humanity."
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'Beyond Comprehension': Medical Team Reports Starvation, Infections at Gaza Hospital
"We're doing everything we can, navigating through critical shortages and working with very limited resources, to save lives amidst this dire situation."
Mar 25, 2024
Members of an emergency medical team that has treated patients at a hospital in southern Gaza in recent weeks said Monday that the horrors they've witnessed there are "unimaginable," from worsening malnutrition to deadly infections stemming from lack of healthcare equipment.
The team formed by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the International Rescue Committee (IRC), and the Palestine Children's Relief Fund (PCRF) has been working at the European Hospital near Khan Younis, a city decimated by Israeli bombing. At least two hospitals in the city are currently under siege by Israeli forces, which have killed more than 32,000 Gazans and injured tens of thousands more in less than six months.
"The situation we're facing is beyond comprehension," said Arvind Das, IRC's Gaza team lead. "Continuous Israeli military operations near hospitals are making an already tense situation even worse for those seeking shelter or medical help, pushing the healthcare system to the brink of collapse."
"Despite the relentless efforts of our medical teams, the infrastructure necessary to deliver optimal medical care has been severely compromised by bombing, stringent restrictions on the entry of aid including medical supplies, and the overwhelming surge in needs," Das added. "We're doing everything we can, navigating through critical shortages and working with very limited resources, to save lives amidst this dire situation."
Not a single hospital in the Gaza Strip is fully functional after months of Israeli attacks, and the dozen that are partially operating are well beyond capacity, with patients and displaced people filling the hallways and outskirts of the facilities. The United Nations' special rapporteur on the right to health has accused Israel's military of waging an "unrelenting war" on Gaza's medical system.
Dr. Konstantina Ilia Karydi, an anesthetist with the emergency medical team, said Monday that the European Hospital "had an original capacity of just 200 beds, and at the moment it has expanded to 1,000 beds."
"There are around 22,000 people that have been displaced from other parts of Gaza sheltering in the corridors and in tents inside the hospital, because people feel that it's safer to be here than anywhere else," said Karydi.
"We worked around the challenges we faced and managed in a different way, but the staff here are overwhelmed."
MAP said in a statement that the medical team's surgeons "completed successful complex vascular and orthopedic surgeries on patients" at the hospital, but some "later died due to infections in the hospitals and the inability to provide post-operative care."
"This is due to the intense security situation that forced healthcare workers to evacuate hospitals and hindered their access," said MAP. "Moreover, significant damage to hospital infrastructure and facilities, coupled with a complete shortage of equipment and medicine—largely due to Israel's restrictions on medical aid entry into Gaza—severely impacted the ability to provide necessary care."
Dr. Husam Basheer, an orthopedic surgeon with the emergency medical team, stressed that healthcare workers in the territory are "managing with the bare minimum of resources," lacking even basic supplies such as gauze.
"We worked around the challenges we faced and managed in a different way," said Basheer, "but the staff here are overwhelmed."
The medical team's report added to the abundance of harrowing accounts from healthcare personnel on the devastating conditions inside Gaza's hospitals, many of which have been shelled and raided—in some cases repeatedly—by Israeli forces.
Al Jazeera reported Monday that the Israeli military has "surrounded the al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in southern Gaza, while pressing on with their siege of Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the strip."
"Military vehicles, tanks, and attack drones are encircling these two facilities," Al Jazeera's Hani Mahmoud reported. "They're also blocking the entrance with piles of sand, preventing medical staff, patients, and injured people inside from leaving safely and constantly failing to provide a safe corridor for people and evacuees trapped inside the hospital."
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, responded with alarm Monday to reports that Israeli forces killed a Palestinian Red Crescent Society volunteer and a displaced person sheltering at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.
"Another reported attack on al-Amal hospital in Gaza, another situation where patients and health workers are in great jeopardy," Tedros wrote on social media. "We appeal for their immediate protection, and repeat our call for a cease-fire."
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Eyewitnesses Report 'Unlawful Killings' by IDF as Raid on al-Shifa Hospital Continues
One eyewitness said that "Israeli soldiers repeatedly took prisoners into the hospital's morgue area, that gunshots were then heard, and that the soldiers left without the prisoners."
Mar 21, 2024
The Israeli military's raid of Gaza's largest hospital stretched into its fourth consecutive day on Thursday as humanitarian aid groups, United Nations officials, and human rights organizations voiced alarm over the impact on patients, healthcare workers, and displaced people trapped inside the besieged facility.
The multi-day raid that began earlier this week marks the second time Israeli forces have stormed the hospital since the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7. In November, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided al-Shifa after claiming—without evidence—that Hamas used the hospital as a command center.
The IDF says it has killed more than 140 people it described as "terrorists" in the latest raid, but eyewitnesses told the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor that IDF soldiers "have carried out unlawful killings and executions against displaced Palestinian civilians" inside al-Shifa.
"A survivor who asked to be identified only as 'M.K.' confirmed that Israeli soldiers repeatedly took prisoners into the hospital's morgue area, that gunshots were then heard, and that the soldiers left without the prisoners," Euro-Med said in a statement Wednesday.
M.K. told the group that Israeli soldiers "detained me and handcuffed me in the hospital courtyard," leaving him "undressed for more than nine hours."
"About four times during that period, I saw soldiers lead groups of detainees—[always] at least three people and [never] more than 10—into the hospital buildings, particularly the morgue building where bodies had previously been kept," said M.K. "Gunshots were heard, with the soldiers then leaving the area to bring another group there."
"Patients cannot receive the care they need due to ongoing Israeli military activity. This includes dangerously ill child amputees who need to be transferred and currently cannot be."
CNN reported Wednesday that medical personnel and journalists at the hospital were also detained by Israeli forces and subjected to degrading treatment.
"Palestinian reporters and hospital staff described scenes of humiliating interrogations where colleagues had been undressed and left outside in the cold, after the Israel Defense Forces laid siege to the largest hospital in the enclave in the early hours of Monday," the outlet reported. "One man who was detained told CNN Israeli forces released him without his ID or mobile phone."
Melanie Ward, CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), said Thursday that she and her colleagues "continue to be deeply worried for patients and staff" at al-Shifa.
"Patients cannot receive the care they need due to ongoing Israeli military activity," said Ward. "This includes dangerously ill child amputees who need to be transferred and currently cannot be."
Al-Shifa is the only partially functioning hospital in northern Gaza, where the population is
facing famine conditions due to Israel's persistent obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries. Al-Shifa had resumed some healthcare services following the IDF's November raid, but the latest assault on the hospital has put patient care in jeopardy, with reports indicating Israeli attacks on key parts of the facility.
Reuters reported Thursday that residents near al-Shifa described the area around the facility as a war zone and said Israeli forces "had blown up houses close by as buildings in the hospital complex burned."
They blew up the surgery department. Shifa is a symbol of civic life in Gaza, and staff have bravely returned some services since it was raided before, and now Israel is destroying what it left. https://t.co/h4uc8055qm
— Rohan Talbot (@rohantalbot) March 21, 2024
As the IDF kicked off its latest raid on al-Shifa earlier this week, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on social media that "hospitals should never be battlegrounds."
The WHO has recorded more than 400 attacks on healthcare facilities or personnel in Gaza since Israel's assault on the territory began in October.
"We are terribly worried about the situation at al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which is endangering health workers, patients, and civilians," Tedros wrote on social media. "The hospital has only recently restored minimal health services. Any hostilities or militarization of the facility jeopardize health services, access for ambulances, and delivery of life-saving supplies. Hospitals must be protected. Ceasefire!"
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'Turns Out the Israelis Lied': Probe Dismantles IDF's Al-Shifa Hospital Claim
A Washington Post investigation found Israel's evidence "falls short" of showing that Hamas used the facility as a command center.
Dec 22, 2023
The Israeli military launched a deadly assault on Gaza's largest hospital last month on the grounds that the facility concealed a sprawling Hamas command center.
But a detailed Washington Post investigation published Thursday found that the evidence Israel has presented in support of its claim "falls short" of demonstrating that Hamas used the al-Shifa Hospital Complex for any significant military operations.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who repeated the Israeli government's claim about al-Shifa, has not released any evidence to support the assertions.
"The claims were remarkably specific—that five hospital buildings were directly involved in Hamas activities; that the buildings sat atop underground tunnels that were used by militants to direct rocket attacks and command fighters; and that the tunnels could be accessed from inside hospital wards," the Post noted.
But the newspaper's examination of material released by the Israel Defense Forces, satellite imagery, and open-source visuals did not turn up anything resembling the "concrete evidence" that the IDF promised.
"Turns out the Shifa hospital wasn't a Hamas headquarters. Turns out the Israelis lied," MSNBC's Mehdi Hasan wrote in response to the investigation. "Turns out the Biden administration and U.S. intelligence were wrong."
"Who'd have guessed," he added sarcastically. "Well, a lot of us."
According to the Post:
- The rooms connected to the tunnel network discovered by IDF troops showed no immediate evidence of military use by Hamas.
- None of the five hospital buildings identified by Hagari appeared to be connected to the tunnel network.
- There is no evidence that the tunnels could be accessed from inside hospital wards.
Israel's raids on al-Shifa sparked international alarm, with United Nations officials warning at the time that the IDF's attack would put the lives of patients, healthcare workers, and displaced people at severe risk. Dozens of people—including several newborns—died during and following the IDF raids.
Hospitals are protected under international law, with military attacks on them prohibited unless they are used to "commit an act harmful to the enemy."
The Post's probe indicates that Israel has not produced nearly enough evidence to justify stripping al-Shifa of its protected status.
"Less than 24 hours after Israeli forces entered the complex, the IDF released video footage showing spokesman Jonathan Conricus walking through the radiology unit. Behind an MRI machine, he points out what he calls a 'grab bag' containing an AK-style rifle and an ammunition magazine," the Post reported. "Photos released by the military later that day purported to show the full haul of weapons recovered at the hospital—about 12 AK-style rifles, in addition to magazines of ammunition and several grenades and bulletproof vests."
"The Post was unable to independently verify to whom the weapons belonged or how they came to be inside the radiology unit," the newspaper added.
The BBC also scrutinized the video footage released by the IDF and similarly concluded that the evidence didn't match the Israeli government's description of al-Shifa as an "operational command center for Hamas."
The Post went on to analyze IDF visuals "showing the entrance to a tunnel shaft in a northeast corner of the hospital complex near the specialty surgery building," which was seen as a potential sign of Hamas activity below al-Shifa.
But after mapping the path of the tunnel and comparing the tunnel routes to an IDF map purporting to detail Hamas' command center infrastructure, the Post found that "none of the five buildings highlighted by the IDF appear to connect to the tunnels, and no evidence has been produced showing that the tunnels could be accessed from inside the hospital wards."
"If you don't end up finding what you said you were going to find, that justifies skepticism as to whether or not your assessment of military value in conducting the operation was legitimate," Geoffrey Corn, a law professor at Texas Tech University and a former senior law of war adviser to the U.S. Army, told the Post. "It's certainly not conclusive. The ultimate question is whether the assessment of military advantage was reasonable under the circumstances."
Al-Shifa is one of a number of Gaza hospitals that Israeli forces have attacked since October as part of what one U.N. official described as the IDF's "unrelenting war" on the territory's healthcare system.
Just nine of Gaza's 36 hospitals are still functioning. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization, said Friday that northern Gaza currently has "no functional hospital."
"WHO will keep striving to supply health facilities in northern Gaza. But without medicines and other essential needs, all patients will die slowly and painfully," said Tedros. "More than ever, a humanitarian cease-fire is needed now to reinforce and restock remaining health facilities, deliver medical services needed by thousands of injured people and those needing other essential care, and, above all, to stop the bloodshed and death."
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