The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas issued a statement in which it accused the Israeli occupation of committing genocide at the Al-Shifa Complex under American cover, and held US President Joe Biden directly responsible for the “ethnic cleansing” to which the hospital is being subjected.
Hamas said on Friday that the Israeli occupation is committing genocide at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, west of Gaza City, with an American green light.
This came in a written press statement by the movement under the title: “The occupation commits genocide in Al-Shifa Hospital with an American green light.”
She said: “What is happening in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, which has been turned into a military barracks in which the occupation’s tanks and snipers are deployed, are crimes that exceed all imagination, by preventing access to the hospital pharmacy to bring medicines to patients, the death of many of them, the theft of the bodies of the martyrs, and a systematic process of extermination of everyone who is... Inside the hospital, he spoke under the eyes and eyes of the whole world.”
The movement held "US President Joe Biden and his administration directly responsible for the crime of ethnic cleansing carried out by the occupation in Al-Shifa Hospital, and for the brutal crimes against children, women and defenseless civilians, who are being subjected to extermination in all areas of the Gaza Strip, with the cover and support of the American administration."
For days, Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings, as well as other hospitals in the Gaza Strip, have been subjected to Israeli bombing and siege, claiming “the presence of a headquarters for Palestinian militants,” which is repeatedly denied by Hamas and Palestinian officials in the Gaza Strip.
At dawn on Wednesday, the Israeli army stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex west of Gaza City, after besieging it for days, as it includes civilians who were displaced from their homes as a result of the ongoing Israeli bombing in the area.
For 42 days, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, leaving more than 11,500 martyrs, including 4,710 children and 3,160 women, in addition to 29,800 injured, 70% of whom are children and women, according to the latest official Palestinian census.
The Israeli occupation army continues its violent and intense raids on the besieged Gaza Strip, targeting civilians and hospitals.
The official Palestinian News Agency, Wafa, reported that, at dawn on Thursday, Israeli fighters bombed two houses in the Nuseirat camp, resulting in the death of a number of citizens and the injury of others.
She added that Israeli aircraft launched "intense" raids in Beit Lahia and the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, "coinciding with the launch of light bombs."
She pointed out that Israeli artillery bombed several areas of the neighborhoods of Gaza City, especially the Rimal neighborhood, pointing to the siege of the city and the prevention of the movement of citizens and ambulances.
She said that Israeli forces bombed the vicinity of the Al-Wusta petrol station, which houses dozens of displaced people, killing 9 Palestinians and wounding others.
In Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, Israeli artillery targeted two mosques, bringing the number of completely destroyed mosques to 74, and partially destroyed to 162, in addition to targeting 3 churches.
The Israeli bombing also targeted a house in the city, early in the day, leading to the death of 9 people, residents confirmed.
Israeli artillery shelling on four areas in Gaza, including the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital, More details with TRT Arabic correspondent from Khan Yunis
"A situation worse than catastrophic"
Regarding the health situation in the Gaza Strip, Ghassan Abu Sukkar, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip, said that the presence of Israeli tanks and their “continuous targeting of ambulance crews prevents bringing the wounded” from the places being bombed in Gaza.
He added, "After the collapse of Al-Shifa Hospital 5-6 days ago, it became the only Baptist Hospital in Gaza City."
The director of the Turkish Al-Sadaqa Hospital north of Gaza, which mostly treats cancer patients, also confirmed that it was out of service due to a lack of fuel.
For days, Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings, as well as other hospitals in the Gaza Strip, have been subjected to Israeli bombing and siege, claiming that “there is a headquarters for Palestinian militants,” which is repeatedly denied by the Hamas movement and Palestinian officials in the Gaza Strip.
At dawn on Wednesday, the Israeli army stormed the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, in a military operation that eyewitnesses described as a “nightmare,” while the complex was still housing patients, injured and displaced people, and then stormed it again for the second time in the evening from the southern entrance.
Israeli bulldozers and vehicles stormed the complex again, Thursday morning, from the southern entrance, and bulldozed the lands and backyards. It caused panic among the displaced people sheltering there, as well as the sick and wounded.
Israel's attack on the Shifa complex a flagrant violation of international conventions and agreements, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Abu Sukkar explained that the number of wounded in the hospital exceeds 500, but "the capabilities inside it are very limited."
He added: "There are only two operating rooms, and we are 3 surgeons, an obstetrician and a gynecologist. Most of the operations we perform are just to save lives."
He added: "Most of the wounded are being bandaged and kept in the hospital because there is no time to take them to the hospital's operating rooms."
He stressed that "the situation is worse than catastrophic."
He concluded his speech by saying: "Ambulances are no longer able to bring the wounded from every place bombed in Gaza due to the presence of Israeli tanks and their continuous targeting of ambulance crews."