After Besieging It For Two Weeks, Israel Withdrew From Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Leaving It Completely Destroyed
Photos showed hundreds of bodies scattered in and around the remains of the hospital, with some crushed by tanks or bulldozers with their heads and limbs severed.
Israeli forces withdrew from Gaza’s Al-Shifa on Monday, April 1, after 14 days of besieging and attacking the hospital, leaving it completely destroyed.
Israel’s military started attacking on Al-Shifa on March 18, saying it was conducting a “precise operation” and Hamas had “regrouped” inside and was “using it to command attacks against Israel”.
Photos of the aftermath showed the vicinity of the hospital flattened to the ground, and the hospital’s five-story building in ruins and burned.
The main surgery building, intensive care unit, emergency, general surgery and orthopedic departments have all been destroyed.
Al-Shifa, which was Gaza’s biggest hospital, where 3,000 Palestinian patients, civilians and medical staff were sheltering is now completely out of service.
Palestinian authorities said after Israeli troops’ withdrawal, 300 bodies were found in and around the complex, many decomposed.
Human rights group Euro-Med Monitor said on March 27 Israeli forces had executed 13 children, aged between 4 and 16, by directly shooting them in and near Al-Shifa during the siege.
Though the exact number of casualties is still unknown, Euro-Med Monitor’s preliminary reports suggest more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed, injured or are reported missing as a result of the massacre, with women and children making up half of the casualties.
Photos showed hundreds of bodies scattered in and around the remains of the hospital, with some burned and others appearing to have their hands and feet tied.
Others had been crushed by tanks or bulldozers with their heads and limbs severed.
21 patients died during the siege after Israeli forces denied them access to medical care and 107 others remain trapped inside, including children and patients in critical condition, the World Health Organization said.
Israel already raided Al-Shifa in November, claiming Hamas was using it as an “operational command center” but has yet to provide concrete evidence.
Israel’s military said it killed more than 170 fighters in the area of the hospital and detained and questioned more than 800 people.
More On Israel's War On Gaza
