The health ministry, under the control of Hamas, reported on Friday that 24 patients at a hospital in conflict-ridden Gaza had succumbed within 48 hours due to power failures, while Israeli forces were conducting searches in the facility for potential Hamas hideouts.
This news was released shortly after Israel consented to a US plea to permit two fuel trucks daily into Gaza, in response to a UN alert that the scarcity had stopped aid distributions and exposed people to the threat of famine.
The circumstances were critical at the Al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest, where the Israeli military stated it was conducting a third day of searches for suspected hideouts of militants from the Islamist group’s armed faction.
Hamas dismisses an Israeli accusation that it operates a command centre at the hospital, where it is estimated that thousands of individuals, including injured patients and premature infants, are present. The hospital also refutes the allegation.
In retaliation to Hamas’s October 7 assault, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths, mostly civilians, and around 240 hostages, Israel has pledged to “demolish” Hamas, as per Israeli authorities.
The military’s aerial and terrestrial offensive has resulted in approximately 11,500 fatalities, including thousands of children, as reported by Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza since 2007.
“Twenty-four patients… have perished in the past 48 hours” at Al-Shifa hospital “due to the malfunctioning of crucial medical equipment caused by the power blackout”, stated Ashraf al-Qudra, the spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry.
In response to a request from the US, the Israeli war cabinet unanimously agreed to permit “the daily entry of two diesel fuel tankers to meet the UN’s requirements for water and sewage infrastructure… on the condition that it does not benefit Hamas”, according to Israeli officials.
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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) previously reported that its relief trucks were unable to access Gaza from Egypt for two consecutive days due to a fuel shortage and an almost complete communication shutdown.
‘Fear and Chaos’
UNRWA announced that it would not be able to “organize or oversee humanitarian convoys” from Friday due to the disruption in telecommunications.
“The conditions in Al-Shifa are disastrous” for patients, evacuees, and healthcare providers who are packed inside without power, water, and food, the hospital’s director, Mohammed Abu Salmiya, informed AFP over the phone during a short period of restored communications.
Israel has justified its Al-Shifa operation, with the military claiming it discovered guns, ammunition, explosives, and the entrance to a tunnel shaft within the hospital compound.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, suggested that hostages might have been kept at the healthcare facility.
“He stated on ‘CBS Evening News’ that they had compelling evidence suggesting that the hostages were kept in Shifa Hospital, which justified their entry into the hospital.
“He added that if the hostages were indeed there, they have been moved.
Israel announced that its forces were methodically searching Al-Shifa, building by building.
The military also reported that they had found the remains of a kidnapped female soldier, Noa Marciano, 19, in a building near Al-Shifa hospital.
Her death was confirmed earlier this week, though the cause was not disclosed. Hamas claimed she was a victim of an Israeli bombing.
On Thursday, the army reported the discovery of another hostage’s body near Al-Shifa. Yehudit Weiss, 65, was abducted from the kibbutz community of Beeri.
‘Civilian population at risk of starvation’
Israel is facing growing demands to substantiate its claims that Hamas is using hospitals as command hubs.
The United States, a staunch ally, has backed Israel, with President Joe Biden recently urging Israel to exercise extreme caution in its military operations near Gaza hospitals.
Hamas reported that over half of Gaza’s hospitals are now non-operational due to warfare, damage, or lack of supplies, and Israel’s assault on Al-Shifa resulted in significant damage to the radiology, burns, and dialysis departments.
Footage from AFPTV depicted Palestinian children in Deir al-Balah, waiting in ambulances for evacuation through the Rafah crossing to the United Arab Emirates.
“At first, they informed us she would be martyred. She has fractures in her skull, pelvis, and thigh,” Adam al-Madhoun, father of four-year-old Kenza, who had her right hand amputated following an attack on the Jabalia refugee camp, stated.
The UN has issued a warning that the situation for Palestinian civilians is quickly worsening.
Over 1.5 million individuals have been displaced within their own country, and the blockade imposed by Israel on the region implies that “civilians are on the brink of starvation”, according to Cindy McCain, the head of the World Food Programme.
The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) reported that 70% of the population lacks access to potable water in southern Gaza, where untreated sewage has begun to flood the streets.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, recounted children taking refuge in a UN school “begging for a drink of water, or a piece of bread”.
Violence in the West Bank
The ground operation by Israel has primarily targeted northern Gaza, where it has declared the capture of significant structures and a harbor. It has reported the death of 51 of its soldiers.
Parallel to the conflict in Gaza, there is escalating worry about the unrest in the West Bank, occupied by Israel, where attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians have dramatically increased.
The Israeli military, claiming to be reacting to “a significant increase in terrorist activities”, has escalated its raids, leading to a sharp rise in Palestinian fatalities.
The Israeli forces reported on Friday that they had eliminated at least seven militants in two distinct clashes in the West Bank.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, has called on Israel to take “immediate” measures to “reduce tensions in the West Bank, including addressing the growing incidents of settler extremist violence,” according to the State Department.
In other developments, Israeli assaults resulted in the death of two pro-Iranian combatants near Damascus during Friday’s operations aimed at a Hezbollah weapons storage and other locations near the Syrian capital, as reported by a watchdog.
On the northern boundary with Lebanon, the Israeli military stated that it targeted several Hezbollah militant group’s positions and retaliated to attacks from across the border.
The independent international leaders collective, The Elders, urged Biden to seize a “momentous opportunity” and propose a peace strategy between Israelis and Palestinians.
“With escalating division, the world requires you to articulate a blueprint for peace,” they stated in a public letter, emphasizing that the strategy “must acknowledge the equivalent rights of Palestinians and Israelis.”
