‘World Is Watching Us Die’: Israeli Forces Besiege, Attack Al-Shifa Hospital
Israeli fighter jets and tanks have been shelling the area outside the hospital since around 9 pm local time on Friday and into Saturday morning.
The attacks have "not stopped for a moment", Abu Mouth, a journalist reporting from inside the hospital said.
Some departments and the yard of the medical complex, the biggest in Gaza, have been directly hit which led to a fire inside the complex, Mouth said.
The intensive care and the pediatric departments have stopped working, according to Ashraf Al-Qudra, the spokesperson of the Palestinian health ministry.
"We are besieged inside the Al-Shifa medical complex," Qudra said in a statement. "We can say that the Al-Shifa medical complex has stopped working and is out of service."
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At around 6 am local time (4 am GMT), power was completely cut off from the hospital, leaving patients on life support at high risk of death at any moment. There is also no water, no food, and no internet inside the hospital.
"We tried in every way to restart the generator to no avail," Mouth said.
39 babies at risk
The Palestinian health ministry said one premature baby hooked to incubators has already died. A total of 39 other babies face the same fate in the coming hours if power is not immediately restored, doctors inside the hospital have warned.
The lack of power is also affecting dozens of patients on life support.
At least one person has already died as ventilators stop working.
"Thousands are trapped inside the complex, including patients, medical staff, first responders, and civil defence personnel," Muhammad Abu Salima, the director of Al-Shifa Hospital, told Al Jazeera.
"We are hours away from death, and the world is watching us die, but we are not numbers," Salima said.
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Meanwhile, Israeli snipers and armed drones have been targeting anyone moving between the different hospital buildings.
Abu Mouth told MEE that a 26-year-old woman tried to leave the hospital amid the siege and was targeted by an Israeli sniper.
“We are completely surrounded and the intense bombing is ongoing," Abu Mouth said.
"There is panic and fear amongst the wounded, sick, and displaced people inside the hospital. They are attacking everywhere and we cannot go out because of the snipers stationed around the hospital,” he added.
Source: middleeastmonitor.net
