Gaza: Al-Shifa hospital destroyed

Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital, was brought to a standstill in November after the Israeli army bombed the area around the facility. The hospital was hit several times, then surrounded before being evacuated, and gradually transformed into a camp for displaced people. 

Two UN convoys, carrying MSF international staff, reached the hospital on 22 January and 11 March to provide fuel and medical supplies. As of January, when MSF staff visited, the hospital housed some 50,000 people, with medical staff striving to maintain access to healthcare. Though the hospital was only partially functioning and desperately lacking supplies, medical staff were still treating over 200 patients in March. 

Heavy military operations inside and around Al Shifa hospital began on 18 March. Access to Al-Shifa hospital was impossible for days, leaving patients without care. As of 31 March, 21 patients had died since the hospital came under siege and another 107 remained trapped inside—four of which are children—along with 28 patients in critical condition.

Although we cannot confirm the exact number of casualties, public reports show that hundreds of people have been killed, including medical staff, and bodies are lying in the street. There have also been mass arrests of medical staff and other people in and around the hospital.

The violence of the assault and heavy fighting also impacted MSF’s clinic located near the hospital. “I saw the huge damage. I was in shock,” says an MSF staff member. “They damaged the office, clinic, all the cars and generators.”

Some MSF staff are still sheltering in the surrounding area, reporting heavy airstrikes. Because of the insecurity, no medical assistance has been provided for days, as medical personnel haven’t been able to reach those in need of assistance. Given the extent of the destruction at Al-Shifa, people in the north are left with even fewer healthcare options. 

“There are still many people living in northern Gaza, and many of them have suffered trauma related to war injuries, but also because of poor living conditions and winter illnesses,” says Aurélie Godard, head of MSF’s medical activities in Gaza, who was able to visit Al-Shifa as part of a supply convoy organised by the United Nations on 22 January. “There are a lot of people… made up mainly of those who are displaced.”

MSF calls for the safe evacuation of the remaining patients so they can receive the care they need. An immediate and sustained ceasefire must be implemented now to put an end to the destruction of healthcare facilities, endangering the lives of patients and medical staff.