Israeli soldiers raided one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza. The military operation on the medical facility forced the Al-Ahli Hospital to close its doors.
According to the Associated Press, “Israeli forces raided the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City overnight, according to the church that operates it, destroying a wall at its front entrance and detaining most of its staff.”
The raid left the hospital damaged and understaffed. Don Binder, a pastor at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral, which runs the hospital, said the attack left just two doctors, four nurses, and two janitors to tend to over 100 seriously wounded patients, with no running water or electricity. He explained an Israeli tank was parked on the rubble at the hospital’s entrance, blocking anyone from entering or leaving.
The head of orthopedic surgery at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza, Fadel Naim, said the doctors were arrested, and four wounded patients have died since the raid. Haaretz reports that several Palestinians detained by Israel in Gaza have died in captivity.
Binder added, “It has been a great mercy for the many wounded in Gaza City that we were able to keep our Ahli Anglican Hospital open for so long. That ended today.” The AFP reported the hospital shutdown on Tuesday. A source explained the raid “put the hospital out of action. We can’t receive any patients or injured.”
Naim said shuttering the hospital left wounded Palestinians suffering on the streets outside the damaged building. “According to our information, there are dozens of wounded in the surrounding streets,” he told AFP.
Last week, the World Health Organization described the state of Al-Ahli Hospital as “utter chaos and a humanitarian disaster zone.” The staffers who visited the facility said, “It is extremely congested with many displaced people and over 200 patients, while it only has enough resources to support 40 beds – half of its original bed capacity.” The press release added, “The building has sustained substantial damage because of the hostilities.”
The WHO says the Israeli military operations in Gaza have decimated the besieged enclaves’ healthcare system. Last week, the organization said only 14 of Gaza’s hospitals were still functioning.
