ICRC urges withdrawal as siege of Al Shifa continues

Hospitals across Gaza have become battlegrounds and must be protected by the rules of war, an aid official has said.

Jessica Moussan of the International Committee of the Red Cross spoke as the Palestinian enclave’s Al Shifa Hospital remained under Israeli siege.

The Israeli military began a raid on Al Shifa last week.

Tanks shelled the medical complex, setting fire to buildings, the Gaza media office said. Homes in the area were bombed.

The Israeli army said on Thursday Hamas fighters were firing on troops “from within and outside” the hospital’s emergency ward. Other hospitals in Gaza, including Al Amal and Nasser, have also been attacked.

“This is deeply troubling. Hospitals should be safe for people who need medical help, for those who work there, and for those sheltering in them,” Ms Moussan told The National.

“The rules of war clearly state that hospitals are protected and should not be attacked. Any violence towards medical facilities and personnel is unacceptable.”

Gaza’s healthcare system has all but collapsed, but hospitals are receiving patients “because they have nowhere else to go”, she said.

An Israeli raid on Al Shifa last November sparked an international outcry.

The hospital, the largest in Gaza, was one of the few healthcare centres in the north of the enclave to remain in operation. It was also housing thousands of displaced civilians.

Unverified footage on social media showed its surgery unit blackened by flames and nearby apartments on fire or destroyed.

Hospitals in Gaza barely manage to provide basic care and have become shelters, Ms Moussan said. People are sleeping in staircases and corridors, she added.

Israel accuses Hamas of hiding fighters in medical centres and using civilians as shields, claims the militant group denies. The Israeli army says it has killed about 200 militants in Al Shifa area since its operation began.

The UN reported “intensive exchanges of fire between the Israeli military and armed Palestinians” around Al Shifa on Thursday.

It quoted the Gazan health authorities as saying the army had confined medical staff and patients to one building. Israel said its troops evacuated civilians, patients and staff “to alternative medical facilities”.

The Gaza health authorities on Thursday said that 62 Palestinians were killed during the 24-hour reporting period. More than 32,400 have been killed in the enclave since the war started.

The war started after Hamas-led fighters killed more than 1,200 in an attack on southern Israel.