The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday that Israel’s navy struck one of its facilities in southern Gaza, despite sharing coordinates with warring parties. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a day earlier that the UN agency was in contact with Shifa hospital, which he said had been without electricity and water for three days, and noted that gunfire and bombings outside the compound “have exacerbated the already critical circumstances.” “Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Patients inside the hospital include dozens of babies at risk of dying because of a lack of electricity, health officials at the facility said.
Quick Read
- Fleeing Gaza’s Largest Hospital:
- Mass Exodus: Thousands flee Gaza City’s main hospital amidst Israeli forces’ siege.
- Patients Trapped: Over 650 patients, including newborns, remain inside with critical conditions.
- Deaths Due to Siege: Gaza health ministry reports 32 patient deaths, including three newborns, due to lack of power.
- Israeli Military Actions:
- Targeting Hospital: Israeli tanks reached the gates of the hospital, firing into it.
- Accusations Against Hamas: Israel claims Hamas is using patients as shields and operating from beneath the hospital.
- International Concerns:
- Fears of War Expansion: Rising tension on Israel’s northern border and U.S. air strikes in Syria.
- U.N. Staff Casualties: Minute’s silence for 101 U.N. staff members killed in Gaza.
- Humanitarian Crisis: Over 800,000 people housed in U.N. shelters; emergency fuel depot for Gaza is dry.
- Casualties and Displacement:
- Palestinian Deaths: Over 11,000 Palestinians killed, 40% being children.
- Israeli Casualties: More than 1,200 Israelis dead, most in Hamas attack; about 240 hostages taken.
- Evacuation and Hospital Closure:
- Evacuation Challenges: Difficulty in moving patients to safety, including from Al-Quds hospital.
- Sewage Crisis: Lack of electricity leads to sewage overflow, causing health and environmental risks.
The Associated Press has the story:
UN agency for Palestinian refugees says its facility hit in Southern Gaza
Newslooks- CAIRO (AP)
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday that Israel’s navy struck one of its facilities in southern Gaza, despite sharing coordinates with warring parties.
The agency, known as UNRWA, said Sunday’s strike caused “significant damage” to its guesthouse in Rafah, adding that no casualties were reported since U.N. staff left the facility 90 minutes before the attack.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
“This recent attack is yet another indication that nowhere in Gaza is safe. Not the north, not the middle areas and not the south,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
UNRWA says it has shared the coordinates of the UN international staff guesthouse twice with the warring parties, including on Nov. 10.
WHO DIRECTOR-GENERAL SAYS SHIFA ‘NOT FUNCTIONING AS A HOSPITAL’
BEIRUT — World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency was in contact with Shifa Hospital late Sunday, which he said had been without electricity and water for three days.
“The constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Regrettably, the hospital is not functioning as a hospital anymore.”
Several charities and humanitarian agencies that support Shifa have told The Associated Press they were unable to reach the hospital throughout the day.
GAZA HOSPITAL DIRECTOR CALLS FOR SAFE PASSAGE FOR INJURED PEOPLE
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The director of hospitals in Gaza said Monday that 32 wounded people have died at Shifa hospital, the territory’s largest, including seven patients in the Intensive care unit.
Mohammed Zaqout said 36 newborn babies have not been evacuated from the hospital yet and there has been no coordination on moving them. He said there is no place to take patients, and called for the opening of a “safe passage” to take them to Egypt for treatment.
Responding to Israeli statements that the hospital had rejected an offer of fuel, Zaqout said the Israeli military offered 300 liters (79 gallons) — “not enough to keep the hospital running for an hour.” He said the hospital needs 8,000 liters (2,110 gallons) of fuel a day.
Zaqout said Israel’s military shelled the oxygen department at Shifa and the hospital is now relying on its remaining oxygen bottles.
He said 10 hospitals remain in service in Gaza and they will not be able to continue operating if fuel is not brought in.
MANY PALESTINIANS HAVE LEFT GAZA’S LARGEST HOSPITAL, UN SAYS
CAIRO — Many displaced Palestinians, along with some medical patients, have left Gaza’s largest hospital, which is surrounded by Israeli forces, a U.N. health official said Monday.
About 650 patients, 500 healthcare workers and an estimated 2,500 displaced people remain in the sprawling Shifa hospital compound, said Mohammed Zaqout, director of hospitals in Gaza. This would signal a significant departure since the weekend when Gaza health officials had said about 1,500 patients, along with 1,500 medical workers and 15,000 displaced people were at Shifa.
Israeli forces and Hamas gunmen have waged heavy battles outside Shifa, and some hospital officials have said Shifa was under siege, with those inside being pinned down by Israeli fire. Israel has said it had offered safe passage to those wanting to leave.
The situation at Shifa deteriorated over the weekend, with doctors reporting that the last generator had run out of fuel, leading to the deaths of several patients, including premature babies.
The U.N. official said Monday that many of the displaced fled the compound and that some families took relatives with moderate injuries with them. He said remaining patients require special procedures for evacuation including equipped ambulances to take them to Egyptian hospitals. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists.
Another hospital in Gaza City, Al-Quds, was forced to shut down on Sunday because it ran out of fuel. The Palestinian Red Crescent, which operates the facility, said Israeli forces are stationed nearby and that preparations are being made to evacuate some 6,000 patients, medics and displaced people.
SEWAGE IS FLOWING INTO THE STREETS BECAUSE PUMPS DON’T HAVE ELECTRICITY, OFFICIAL SAYS
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Municipal officials in Gaza say sewage is overflowing into the streets because of the lack of electricity, causing a health and environmental disaster.
“A complete halt of all sewage pumps, which led to the overflow of sewage in the streets and neighborhoods, is creating a health and environmental abomination and the spread of diseases,” said Ahmad al Soufi, president of Rafah municipality.
“We are now witnessing a deterioration in the environmental situation resulting from the accumulation of waste in the streets, alleys and all neighborhoods and the spread of diseases and epidemics of all kinds.
