Gaza Strip: WHO complains about “appalling conditions” in Shifa clinic

The World Health Organization has once again complained about “appalling conditions” in the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. There has been no electricity or water in Al-Shifa Hospital for three days, said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Unfortunately the hospital is no longer functional.” The situation on site is “bad and dangerous”.

There are more than 2,000 people in the Shifa clinic, including probably more than 600 patients and around 1,500 displaced people, the WHO wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter), citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Accordingly, patients could no longer receive dialysis, among other things. Premature babies were also transferred to operating rooms without incubators.

“The ongoing firefights and bombardments in the area have exacerbated the already critical conditions,” wrote WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in his own post on X: “Tragically, the number of deaths among patients has increased significantly.” The WHO was able to establish contact with the health staff at the clinic. The hospital no longer functions as a hospital. There must be an immediate ceasefire.

According to a representative of the Hamas government, five premature babies and seven seriously ill patients have now died in the clinic. “We fear that the number of victims will continue to rise until morning,” said Deputy Health Minister Yussef Abu Rish on Sunday.

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip. The clinic complex has been under repeated attack for days; according to Abu Risch, the cardiology department was “completely” destroyed in an Israeli attack. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders described the situation in the clinic as “catastrophic”.

Medical care is hardly possible anymore

The WHO had previously denounced the situation in the clinic complex with around 700 beds. Because of the fighting in the immediate vicinity and a lack of fuel, medical care is hardly possible anymore. Dozens of children are in critical condition and could die at any moment, the WHO warned. The head of Shifa Hospital denied Israel’s claims that his clinic had rejected fuel supplies under pressure from Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. The Islamist organization also controls the Ministry of Health.

Speaking to the British broadcaster BBC, a senior doctor at the clinic also denied the Israeli side’s claim that Hamas fighters were in the hospital. That was “a big lie,” said chief surgeon Marwan Abu Saada. “We have medical staff, we have patients and displaced people. Nothing else.” The Israeli military had previously said that Hamas – which uses an extensive tunnel under the coastal area for its own purposes – had a command center under the clinic and was also misusing other medical facilities in the Gaza Strip for military purposes.

The White House national security adviser said the US had urged Israel to avoid fighting near hospitals in the Gaza Strip. “The United States does not want hospital battles where innocent people and patients receiving medical care are caught in the crossfire,” Jake Sullivan told CBS.

Fierce fighting around Al-Shifa clinic in Gaza

Another clinic, Al-Kuds Hospital, had to stop working because there was no more fuel for the generators, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. A representative of the Hamas authorities also said that the “forced evacuation of the Al-Nasr and Al-Rantissi children’s hospitals” had resulted in “the sick being left on the streets without treatment.”

The Israeli military had previously announced that it had “facilitated the evacuation” of the two hospitals. The information provided by both sides could not be independently verified. The army rejects allegations that it is attacking the Al-Shifa hospital.

Witnesses told the AFP news agency on Sunday that there had been “fierce fighting” around the Al-Shifa hospital throughout the night. The Hamas-run Health Ministry said the clinic was “besieged” by Israeli tanks.

The European Union accused Hamas of using hospitals and civilians in the Gaza Strip as “human shields.” In a statement issued on Sunday evening by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on behalf of the EU, Israel was also called on to exercise “the greatest possible restraint” in order to protect the lives of civilians.

Scholz rejects ceasefire in the Gaza Strip

From Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s point of view, a long or even permanent break in fighting would be counterproductive. Humanitarian breaks could make sense, for example to get the wounded out of the Gaza Strip, said the SPD politician on Sunday evening at a “Heilbronner Stimme” event in Heilbronn. “But I’m happy to admit that I don’t think the call that some are making for an immediate ceasefire or a long pause – which are basically the same thing – is right.” Ultimately, that means “that Israel should let Hamas recover and purchase new rockets again. So that they can then fire again. They will not be able to accept that.”