After days of attacking Al Shifa hospital in Gaza and raiding it room by room, the Israeli military has now forcefully evacuated premises on Saturday.
The hospital’s Director, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, told Al Jazeera that the hospital is now “completely deserted” while the few patients and victims left are lying in corridors.
He added that those in dire conditions, including newborns and kidney patients, “will die imminently if they are not evacuated,” further stating that Israeli soldiers “are in total control” and that the remaining medical staff “cannot move freely”.
Earlier today,the Israeli military had ordered everyone — including doctors, patients and displaced people — to evacuate in an hour.
This, as reported by Al Jazeera, created a sense of panic as it is impossible to flee Al Shifa in such a brief period. A Palestinian health official said that evacuees were “ordered at 9am [7:00 GMT] to leave while waving a white handkerchiefs and walk in a single-file line.”
Medical staff and others present at Al Shifa revealed that there are patients who cannot be abandoned, including those who cannot walk.
Munir al-Barsh, director-general of Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that about “450 patients were evacuated, while about 120 patients were left behind with five doctors, including the director and a few nurses, because they were immobile.”
Additionally, a list of critical patients has been given to the Red Cross so they can be taken to Egypt for treatment.
Adnan al-Barsh, head of orthopaedics at al-Shifa Hospital, stated that Israeli snipers are in and around the hospital compound, saying that “We were adamant on not leaving without our patients … we were forced to leave at gunpoint.”
The Israeli army denied issuing the evacuation order, however, all officials and other people at Al Shifa have described the total opposite of Israeli claims.
