Palestinian officials say Israeli air strikes hit Gaza hospitals
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[November 10, 2023]
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) -Israeli air strikes hit Gaza's biggest hospital, the Al
Shifa, on Friday, killing one person and wounding others sheltering
there, Palestinian officials said, one of several hospitals reported
struck as Israeli troops battled Hamas in the heart of the enclave.
Officials said other strikes had damaged parts of the Indonesian
Hospital and reportedly set fire to the Rantissi paediatric and cancer
hospital in the northern part of Gaza, where Israel says Hamas militants
who attacked it last month are concentrated.
Israeli tanks, which have been advancing through northern Gaza for
almost two weeks, have taken up positions around the Rantissi, Al-Quds
and Nasser Children's hospitals, raising concern for patients, doctors
and evacuees there, medical staff said.
"Israel is now launching a war on Gaza City hospitals," Mohammad Abu
Selmeyah, director of Gaza's main Shifa hospital, told Reuters.
Israel did not immediately comment but says it does not target civilians
and goes to great lengths to avoid hitting them. It says Hamas militants
have hidden command centres and tunnels beneath Shifa and other
hospitals, allegations which Hamas denies.
"While the world sees neighbourhoods with schools, hospitals, scout
groups, children's playgrounds and mosques, Hamas sees an opportunity to
exploit," the Israeli military said.
With Palestinian officials reporting more than 10,000 dead, Israel has
faced growing calls for restraint in its month-old war on Hamas but says
the militants, whose Oct. 7 attack made all Israelis fear for their
lives, would just exploit any pause.
The armed wing of Hamas said on Friday it was still firing rockets and
shells into Israel and fighting off troops in Gaza.
Sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and surrounding areas to alert people to
Hamas rocket fire. Medics reported two women in Tel Aviv suffered
shrapnel wounds from a salvo.
Even before the conflict closed in on them, the enclave's hospitals were
struggling to cope, with medical supplies, clean water and fuel to power
generators running out and surgery being done without anaesthetics.
Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra said Israel had bombed
Shifa hospital buildings five times since Thursday night.
"They shelled the maternity department and the outpatient clinics
building. One Palestinian was killed and several were wounded in the
early morning attack," he said.
In the wake of the blasts, witnesses said many people were starting to
leave the grounds of the facility fearing further strikes.
Israel has warned people to evacuate but Qidra said that was impossible.
"We are talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 children in intensive
care units, hundreds of wounded and patients, and tens of thousands of
displaced people," he said.
Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gaza residents had been killed as of
Thursday, about 40% of them children, in air and artillery strikes with
many others wounded.
Israel says 1,400 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 240
were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, while 39 soldiers have been
killed in combat since.
AIR STRIKES AT DAWN
Palestinian media showed video footage of the aftermath of the Shifa
strike, with people shouting and crying and several figures covered with
blood. Reuters confirmed the location as the covered, outdoor area near
the outpatient department.
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Smoke rises over Gaza as seen from southern Israel, amid the ongoing
conflict between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, November 10,
2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
A World Heath Organization spokesperson said she did not have
details of Friday's incident but quoted colleagues from the hospital
as saying it had been coming under bombardment and there was
"intense violence" there.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila said an adult was killed and
a child was wounded at Shifa, one of several medical facilities hit.
"Israel...targeted at dawn a number of hospitals in the Gaza Strip,"
her statement said.
The ministry later reported on Telegram that Rantissi hospital was
struck by a direct hit and a fire was reported inside the hospital,
citing spokesman Qidra. He said earlier that vehicles had been set
on fire in the grounds.
WHO also said there was "significant bombardment" on Rantissi
hospital, which it has said was only hospital providing paediatric
services in north Gaza.
A person who said they were a member of staff of Nasser Children's
Hospital posted an appeal on social media saying they were
surrounded.
"We are blockaded inside the hospital by tanks, and we are exposed
to heavy fire against us. We don't have electricity, no oxygen for
patients, no fresh water," it said. The situation here is very
difficult and dangerous."
Indonesia said parts of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza had
been damaged in overnight explosions nearby. It did not report any
casualties but condemned the blasts without saying who was
responsible.
Gaza's health ministry has said 18 of Gaza's 35 hospitals and 40
other health centres were out of service either due to damage from
shelling or lack of fuel.
ISRAEL SAYS SHIFA HOSPITAL IS LEGITIMATE TARGET
Any Israeli attempt to seize Shifa would risk heavy civilian losses
and could trigger an international outcry.
"With ongoing strikes and fighting nearby (Al Shifa), we are gravely
concerned about the well-being of thousands of civilians there, many
children among them, seeking medical care and shelter," Human Rights
Watch said.
The Israeli military has allowed some wounded Palestinian civilians
to cross into Egypt for treatment and has announced daily windows
for civilians to flee northern Gaza for the south.
Deadly air strikes on refugee camps, a medical convoy and near
hospitals have already prompted arguments among some of Israel's
Western allies over its adherence to international law.
U.N. agencies have issued regular calls for a ceasefire, which both
sides have rejected.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said any use of
civilians by Palestinian armed groups to shield themselves would
contravene the laws of war but that such conduct did not absolve
Israel of its obligation to spare civilians.
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said the Hamas
headquarters was located in the Shifa's basement, so the hospital
would lose its protected status and become a legitimate target.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Claudia Tanios, Maytaal
Angel, Emily Rose and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem, Rami Amichay in
Tel Aviv, Emma Farge in Geneva and other Reuters bureaus; Writing by
Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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