The World Health Organisation has said 32 children are among the 2,500 people seeking refuge inside Al-Shifa hospital, despite Israel continuous attack on the Gaza’s biggest hospital.
In a statement issued on late last night, the WHO said its team arrived after the Israel Defence Forces had issued evacuation orders to the remaining 2,500 internally displaced people who had been seeking refuge on the hospital grounds.
The IDF vehemently denies issuing any such order.
A team of UN and WHO experts conducted a “high-risk operation” yesterday to get inside al Shifa hospital, despite heavy fighting reported to be ongoing nearby and a mass exodus of patients, doctors and other displaced people sheltering there.
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“Due to time limits associated with the security situation, the team was able to spend only one hour inside the hospital, which they described as a ‘death zone,’ and the situation as ‘desperate’,” WHO Spokeperson said.
“Signs of shelling and gunfire were evident. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance of the hospital and were told more than 80 people were buried there.”
They said the facility had effectively stopped functioning as a hospital.
“Corridors and the hospital grounds were filled with medical and solid waste, increasing the risk of infection. Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation.”
Remaining patients included 32 babies which the WHO said were in “extremely critical condition” and two people in intensive care without ventilation.