The largest clinic in the Gaza Strip is out of operation, according to a doctor and the Health Ministry, which is controlled by the Islamist Hamas. “There is no more electricity,” said the doctor at the Shifa Hospital, Ghassan Abu Sitta, to the German Press Agency on Saturday.
Rockets also hit the site. “The majority of staff have left the hospital.” The injured people who could have left. According to him, seriously injured people are still being cared for by a core medical team. The information could not initially be independently verified.
According to the doctor, only one clinic in the Gaza Strip, the Al-Ahli Hospital, is now in operation. The area there was converted into a hospital. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday that only 20 of the 36 hospitals in the coastal area were currently no longer in use. The remaining clinics only ran in emergency mode due to a lack of fuel, among other things. The clinics need fuel for generators to produce electricity.
Operation suspended
The director of the Shifa Clinic, Mohammad Abu Salamiya, confirmed that operations there had been suspended. Two grenades landed in the courtyard. The main entrance and facades were damaged. According to his account, a fire also broke out in part of the area. The clinic director spoke of “Israeli attacks.”
The Israeli army, however, blamed Hamas for direct shelling. Accordingly, a misfired Hamas projectile, which is said to have been aimed at Israeli troops nearby, is said to have hit the clinic. The information provided by both sides could not initially be independently verified. In recent days there have been reports of heavy fighting in the area around the clinic.
According to Israeli intelligence services, Hamas, which rules in the coastal area, is using the Shifa Hospital as a command and control center. This information cannot currently be independently verified.
Thousands of people were also reportedly seeking refuge from the bombings on the clinic grounds. Israeli media reported that many of them fled south on Friday as Israeli troops closed in and the army also expanded escape corridors for those affected.
