Gaza’s ministry of health has said that there were about 3,000 people inside the hospital when the IDF’s unexpected and rapid raid began on 18 March, despite previously claiming that they had completely destroyed Hamas’s networks in northern Gaza.
The military told people living in the surrounding area to leave and head south to al-Mawasi, near Rafah – the overcrowded southern city where Israel has been planning a ground invasion for a number of weeks.
Though the IDF has said that civilians, medical staff and patients were evacuated, many were initially left barricaded in the hospital with little food and water. Witnesses also told the BBC that gunfire and airstrikes have been endangering medics and hundreds of people sheltering on the ground.
The hospital’s main buildings have been reduced to “to burned-out husks” and the health ministry has reported the stench of decomposing bodies in the rubble.
World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X: “Among the patients are four children, lacking necessary means of care – no diapers, urine bags, water to clean wounds,” adding, “Many have infected wounds and are dehydrated. Since yesterday only one bottle of water remains for every 15 people.”
Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesperson, has denied that any civilians had been harmed by Israeli forces and blamed Hamas for the destruction of the hospital, claiming that fighters had locked themselves inside, though the armed group denies this and accuses the IDF of war crimes.
Al-Shifa has not been the only hospital that has been under fire – Israeli forces also stormed Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, the Gaza health ministry said, leaving thousands of people trapped inside. Many non-combatants were caught in violence, with doctors telling the BBC they were detained, blindfolded and beaten during the raid.
Al-Amal hospital was also under fire to the point where the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that it had ceased to function as a result of the fighting, leaving only 10 of 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip partly operational. Even before this latest raid began, most hospitals in Gaza had been put out of action by the war with aid agencies reporting an “unimaginable” state of crisis.
Will Israel invade Rafah?
The Israeli government has given the green light to the IDF’s plans to invade Rafah, shrugging off warnings from allies that an operation in the city that is housing a million and a half displaced Palestinians would be a mistake. Benjamin Netanyahu has said that nothing would stand in the way of the plans, “Not American pressure, not any other pressure.” Nonetheless, the White House is hoping to stave off a military incursion during a planned meeting where US and Israeli officials may discuss potential alternatives to the invasion.
Despite the warnings from the White House and apprehension about the invasion of Rafah, the Washington Post reported that the US still quietly approved the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel. The Biden administration has made it clear, despite pressure, that limiting or ending military aid is off the table, which may explain why Netanyahu confidently ignores Washington’s advice.
Political division in Israel
As the war continues to rage on in Gaza, the political divides in Israel faced by Netanyahu have once again come to the fore. Over the weekend tens of thousands of protesters mobilised with the families of hostages to call for the prime minister’s removal. Police used cannon loaded with “skunk” water to disperse protesters but the attempts to deter them have not worked, with a four-day protest outside the Israeli parliament in tents underway. All over the country, protesters demanded the release of the 130 Israeli hostages and admonished Netanyahu as an “obstacle” to a deal.
Simultaneously, separate protests were taking place in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood calling for the conscription of Haredi men into the IDF, who are currently exempt from military service. The dispute poses the biggest political threat to Netanyahu as his right-wing alliance of secular and ultra-Orthodox parties fail to agree on whether the state should continue to allow ultra-Orthodox young men to avoid conscription.
As the violence in Gaza continues with Palestinians forced into a famine, and Netanyahu clings on to power, it looks as though the grinding conflict could be slipping into a “forever war”.
