On Monday, Israeli forces arrived at the gates of Gaza City’s main hospital Al Shifa, the main objective in their operation to seize control of the Gaza Strip’s northern half, where medics said patients, including newborn babies, were dying due to a lack of fuel.
There was also new concern that the conflict would spread beyond Gaza, with an increase in clashes on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and the US beginning air strikes on Iran-linked militia targets in neighboring Syria.
Israel initiated its effort to destroy Hamas, the Islamist group that governs the Gaza Strip, last month after Hamas fighters killed civilians in southern Israel. According to Israel’s account, almost 1,200 people were killed, and 240 were hauled to Gaza as hostages on the worst day in the country’s 75-year history.
The conflict in Gaza has led to a significant loss of life and displacement of the population. The Israeli military campaign, which began in late October, has resulted in thousands of deaths and over half of the Gaza population becoming homeless. The northern half of Gaza has been ordered for total evacuation by Israel.
Israeli ground forces have surrounded Gaza City, focusing the fighting around the Shifa hospital, the largest in the enclave. Israel claims that Hamas fighters have an underground headquarters beneath the hospital and are using patients as shields, an accusation denied by Hamas.
The situation at Al Shifa Hospital is dire, with an Israeli tank stationed at the hospital gate. Israel has urged civilians to leave and tried to evacuate babies from the neo-natal ward, offering fuel for emergency generators, which Hamas allegedly blocked. The Gaza health ministry stated that the 300 liters of fuel offered would only last half an hour, while the hospital requires 8,000-10,000 liters per day.
According to Gaza health officials, three babies in incubators at Shifa have died, and the hospital is struggling to function. The World Health Organization chief described Al Shifa as no longer operating as a hospital, condemning the transformation of hospitals into scenes of death, devastation, and despair. The conflict has raised concerns about the humanitarian situation and the impact on civilians in Gaza.
