Watan-The General Director of Hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Mohammed Zaqout, has shared a tragic and heartbreaking image of the situation inside Al-Shifa Hospital following the massacres committed by the Israeli occupation in the region in the past few hours. The local official confirmed that the majority of patients in the intensive care unit at Al-Shifa Hospital have passed away.
Israeli forces invaded Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip days ago, marking a third intelligence failure for Israel since the events of October 7. This followed the debunking of its claims about the presence of a Hamas leadership headquarters inside the medical complex.
Tragedy at Al-Shifa Hospital
Regarding the dire situation of Al-Shifa Hospital besieged by occupation forces, Dr. Zaqout told Al-Jazeera that due to the ongoing massacres, especially in the northern area, there is currently no functioning hospital in Gaza.
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He added that “Kamal Adwan Hospital,” which houses all injuries, is a children’s and maternity hospital with only 70 beds and two operating rooms. It lacks an intensive care unit, as well as specialized departments for neurosurgery and urgently needed head injuries. Therefore, as he stated, these wounded individuals are at risk of losing their lives.
Zaqout emphasized that the Indonesian Hospital is completely full and lacks any resources for health or medical services.
Most of the intensive care patients have passed away
The Palestinian official stated that the massacres today alone will result in a thousand martyrs and revealed that the majority of intensive care patients at Al-Shifa Hospital have passed away.
He further revealed that Nasser and Wadih Hospital has witnessed over 79 martyrs on Saturday, with 32 of them from the “Abu Hatab” family in a massacre that occurred in the morning, and more than 40 martyrs in various massacres in the Khan Yunis area.
The Director-General of Hospitals in the Gaza Strip pointed out that there is no medical service in the northern Gaza area, and the occupation forces sentence the wounded to death.
Zaqout recounted that local authorities continued to coordinate with international organizations regarding the evacuation of any survivors inside Al-Shifa complex. However, they were informed of their inability to evacuate the injured, including the severely wounded children, despite the dire situation. He added that these organizations cite Israeli delays and restrictions on these coordination efforts, increasing the likelihood, as he stated, that these wounded individuals and children might lose their lives due to these delays, even though health vehicles in Gaza are ready to transport them if coordination is allowed.
Children with Amputations
Dr. Mohammed Zaqout stated that there are dozens of wounded individuals who cannot walk on their feet, and the occupying forces have expelled them without providing a safe place for them.
Some of them are bone-injury patients who have undergone surgeries and cannot walk even with the assistance of walkers because, as he mentioned, they would have to cover a distance of 15 kilometers on foot.
In addition, there are 36 children still inside Al-Shifa Hospital, and some kidney dialysis patients, six of whom have passed away because they have not undergone dialysis for the kidneys in the last 10 days.
He concluded by stating that the children with amputations are in a “pitiable condition” and could lose their lives at any moment.