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Al-Shifa Hospital was the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in the neighborhood of northern Rimal in Gaza City.
The year 2023 in Israel was defined first by wide-scale protests against a proposed judicial reform, and then by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, which led to a war and to Israel invading the Gaza Strip.
On 27 October 2023, Israel launched an invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated goals to destroy Hamas, a military and political movement that led an attack on Israel earlier in the month, and to free hostages it took. The effort is ongoing. Before the invasion, dubbed Operation Swords of Iron, Israel declared war, tightened its blockade, and ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip.
The siege of Gaza City began on 2 November 2023, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza City, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which was a counterattack to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Gaza City is the most populated city in the Gaza Strip and the battle started on 30 October 2023, when Israel and Hamas clashed in Gaza City. According to Oxfam, there are about 500,000 Palestinians, along with 200 Israelis and other captives, currently trapped in a "siege within a siege" in northern Gaza.
On 3 November 2023, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and siege of Gaza City, an Israeli airstrike hit an ambulance convoy departing from al-Shifa Hospital carrying critically injured patients. The strike killed 15 people and wounded dozens. The Palestine Red Crescent Society, which was part of the convoy, said that all 15 casualties were civilians.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis includes both a famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel implemented a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Widespread disease outbreaks have spread across Gaza.
Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in Gaza, was placed under siege by Israel in mid-November 2023 during the Israel–Hamas war, after saying it had contained a Hamas command and control center beneath it. The incident was followed by a second major raid by Israeli forces in March 2024.
A significant number of attacks on healthcare facilities occurred during the Israel-Hamas war. During the first week of the war, there were 94 attacks on health care facilities in Israel and Gaza, killing 29 health care workers and injuring 24. The attacks on healthcare facilities contributed to a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. By 30 November, the World Health Organization documented 427 attacks on healthcare in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, resulting in 566 fatalities and 758 injuries. By February 2024, it was reported that "every hospital in Gaza is either damaged, destroyed, or out of service due to lack of fuel." By April, WHO had verified 906 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon.
Israel has accused Hamas of using human shields in the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas has purposely attempted to shield itself from Israeli attacks by storing weapons in civilian infrastructure, launching rockets from residential areas, and telling residents to ignore Israeli warnings to flee. Israel has also accused Hamas of maintaining command and control bunkers and tunnel infrastructure below hospitals. Critics have questioned whether the mere proximity of Hamas militants to civilians constitutes "human shields" given that IDF headquarters are in the middle of Tel Aviv and other IDF military bases are located near residential areas.
During the Israel–Hamas war, Israel and the United States stated that a vast complex existed under al-Shifa hospital that was being used by Hamas as its "main operations base", which Hamas and hospital administrators denied. Following Israel's release of video evidence on 22 November, multiple news agencies concluded that the evidence did not demonstrate the use by Hamas of a command center. The New York Times also said the evidence does not show conclusive evidence of a vast network of tunnels, while Haaretz concluded that Hamas did use the hospital for military purposes. Amnesty International said on 23 November 2023 that "Amnesty International has so far not seen any credible evidence to support Israel’s claim that al-Shifa is housing a military command centre" and that "the Israeli military has so far failed to provide credible evidence" for the allegation. Izzat al-Risheq, a Hamas official, denied that the group used the hospital as a shield for its underground military structures, saying there was no truth to the claims.
During the Israel–Hamas war, the healthcare system of Gaza was destroyed by Israeli attacks on hospitals and health facilities, killing of healthcare workers, and blockade of medical supplies from entering Gaza. The resulting collapse of the healthcare system was part of a broader humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip caused by the war.
The Gaza Strip faced a premature baby crisis during the Israel–Hamas war. The situation escalated when the Israeli Defense Forces raided Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Nasr Children's Hospital, and Kamal Adwan Hospital. Reports of premature babies in intensive care, added to concerns about the rising number of preterm births in Gaza. The newborns gained global attention.
The Insurgency in the North Gaza Strip is an armed conflict centered in northern Gaza, around the besieged Gaza city after Israel announced it had dismantled 12 Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades battalions on 7 January.
In March 2024, during the Israel–Hamas war, civilians seeking humanitarian aid were attacked at the Kuwait roundabout near Gaza City. According to the Gaza’s health ministry, 20 Gazans were killed and 155 were wounded. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responded to the accusations saying they did not open in fire at the convoy, claiming that armed militants fired against the Gazan civilians while waiting for the aid convoy to arrive.
Yitzhar Hofman was an Israeli soldier who was a commander in the Israeli Air Force's elite Shaldag Unit.
Sara Al-Saqqa is a Palestinian surgeon. She was the first woman surgeon in Gaza and she was recognised as a member of the BBC's 100 influential women in 2024. She became a de facto reporter on the Gazan medical effort during the humanitarian crisis involving a forced wave of Palestinian refugees in the armed conflict between Israel and Gaza in 2023 and 2024.
Faiq Al-Mabhouh was a police officer and the head of the Hamas internal security forces and was killed during a raid on Al-Shifa hospital alongside 20 other Palestinian militants.
During the Israel-Hamas war mass graves have been widely used in the Gaza Strip by Palestinians, with the courtyards of many hospitals converted.
References
- ↑ Fox, Nina; Lukash, Alexandra; Kraus, Yair; Cohen, Nir (Shoko) (March 20, 2024). "Sebastian Haion's last moments before falling near Al Shifa: 'He attempted to subdue the fleeing terrorist'". Ynet . Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ Aderet, Ofer (March 19, 2024). "Israeli army names reservist killed in Gaza combat near Al-Shifa Hospital". Haaretz . Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ "Warrant Officer Sebastian Haion, oleh from Argentina, killed in Gaza". Israel Hayom . March 19, 2024. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ↑ "IDF announces soldier killed in north Gaza fighting, taking ground offensive toll to 251".