Israel Gaza: Hospitals Caught On Front Line Of War

Hospitals and medical facilities have become caught up in intense fighting as Israel presses its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City.

The focus of attention has been on Al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, where thousands are trapped by nearby battles, but other facilities are also reporting a lack of supplies and power because of fighting.

Israel says it is not targeting hospitals directly but acknowledges “clashes” around Al-Shifa and other facilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says 36 health facilities including 22 hospitals have been damaged since the war began on 7 October, and only a handful are now still operational.

Here is what the BBC knows about the situation at the main facilities in northern Gaza.

The WHO said on Sunday that Al-Shifa in Gaza City – the territory’s largest with 700 beds – had ceased to function and that the situation inside was “dire and perilous”.

The surrounding streets are engulfed by fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces. Critical infrastructure has been damaged, according to the UN.

Israel says Hamas fighters operate in tunnels underneath the hospital – a claim which Hamas denies.

Staff inside say it is impossible to leave without risking injury or death.

The WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said on X that “constant gunfire and bombings in the area” had “exacerbated the already critical circumstances”.

Multiple reports from inside say there are no food and no fuel to run generators. Solar energy is being used to power a few critical systems.

There have been communication blackouts – the Doctors Without Borders charity was unable to contact its members inside Gaza over the weekend. Attempts by the BBC to contact workers have often been unsuccessful.

The Hamas-run health ministry has said there are at least 2,300 people still inside the hospital – up to 650 patients, 200-500 staff and around 1,500 people seeking shelter.

This number includes newborn babies being kept in a surgical theatre at the site.

Staff say that three of 39 infants in their care died over the weekend for lack of incubators. Surviving babies were at serious risk of death, according to doctors.

The Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said on Saturday that Israel would provide assistance to evacuate the babies to a “safer hospital”.

However, that evacuation had yet to happen as of Monday afternoon.

Hospital staff have told the BBC that moving the babies safely would require sophisticated equipment, and that there is no “safer hospital” inside Gaza.

Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that the 300 litres offered would have been enough for the babies and more could be provided.

“Hamas did not want to accept solutions for the lack of fuel needed to save the babies,” he said, adding: “We provided fuel and they [Hamas] refused to take it.”

On Saturday, Colonel Moshe Tetro of the IDF said there were clashes nearby, but no shooting at the hospital itself, and no siege.

Anyone who wanted to leave, he said, could do so. He insisted that to say otherwise was a lie.