2023-11-10 23:54:54
The fighting between Israel and Hamas would concern sensitive areas, sheltering civilians, and in particular hospitals. “The destruction of hospitals in Gaza is becoming unbearable and must stop. The lives of thousands of civilians, patients and medical staff are in danger,” said William Schomburg, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) sub-delegation in Gaza, launching an urgent appeal for respect and protection of medical facilities, patients and healthcare staff in Gaza, while several attacks were denounced this Friday.
At Al-Shifa Hospital
While Israeli ground troops are supported by bombardments, the army said it was targeting in particular a “military quarter”, adjacent to Al-Shifa hospital, described as the “heart” of the Israeli operational and intelligence activities. Hamas. Salama Maarouf, head of the Hamas press office, reported “thirteen martyrs and dozens of wounded in an Israeli strike on the Al-Shifa compound today.”
The director of the hospital, Mohammed Abou Salmiya, who spoke of Israeli tank fire on the maternity ward, reported around fifty deaths in a new report. An AFP journalist saw at least seven bodies near the hospital. Images show bodies wrapped in blankets outside the hospital.
Thursday evening, an Israeli army spokesperson reported major operations in an area “very very close” to this hospital.
At Al-Quds Hospital
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that shots by elite Israeli soldiers (snipers) on Friday at Al-Quds hospital left at least one dead and 20 injured. “Violent clashes are currently taking place and snipers of the (Israeli) occupation are shooting at Al-Quds hospital, causing casualties among the displaced people,” the Palestinian Red Crescent medical organization said in a statement. a statement.
Contacted, the Israeli army said “it cannot discuss potential locations linked to (its) operations” so as not to “compromise the troops”. “If we see Hamas terrorists shooting from hospitals, we will do what we have to do (…), we will kill them,” one of its spokespersons, Richard Hecht, later declared to journalists, while admitting the “sensitive nature” of such operations.
Other hospitals
The Israeli army has been saying for several days that its troops are now fighting Hamas in the heart of Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian territory, where a few hundred thousand civilians still reside. Al-Rantissi Hospital, which some witnesses saw surrounded by tanks, as well as al-Shifa Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital came under fire overnight, Hamas authorities said.
“Numerous ‘Israeli’ tanks surround four hospitals in the area,” the Hamas government press office reported, citing the al-Rantissi pediatric and oncology hospital, the psychiatric hospital, the Nasr pediatric hospital and the eye hospital. Images released by al-Rantissi hospital show Israeli tanks visible from inside the establishment.
The health system in the Gaza Strip is “on its knees”, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned before the UN Security Council, noting that half of the 36 hospitals in the enclave were “no longer working at all”. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus counted “more than 250 attacks” on health establishments in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7 and the start of the war. “I was preparing to inform the Council of the critical shortage of fuel, food and water, but honestly, our main concern now is the direct threat to the lives of the wounded and sick, and tens of thousands of civilians” sheltering in Al-Quds hospital, he said.
Since the start of the war on October 7, triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israeli soil, the UN and the World Health Organization (WHO) have denounced Israeli air and artillery strikes. on hospitals and ambulances. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals to carry out attacks and hide tunnels, which the movement denies, saying it is ready to welcome “an international team” for investigation.
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