Netanyahu's Postwar Vision Amid Al-Shifa Hospital Airstrikes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's postwar vision amid Al-Shifa Hospital airstrikesin Gaza have continued despite Netanyahu's promises to improve Israel's position and plan for a peace agreement after the conflict.
There is heavy combat between Hamas and Israeli ground troops in the area near al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the biggest institution in the region, and this hospital has been the target of significant bombing.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, the hospital's director, claims that the facility is "totally surrounded" and that bombardments are now taking place in the area.
Israeli Airstrike On Al-Shifa Hospital
There is a humanitarian catastrophe at the Shifa hospital in Gaza since they have run out of potable water, medication, supplies, and fuel. Israeli troops have encircled the facility, posing a serious danger to the patients and staff within.
Israeli jets bombed the hospital, taking out the generator that supplied power to the facility and the neonatal intensive care unit, where 39 newborns were receiving life-saving treatment.
There have been three newborn deaths thus far. The Israeli military has said that there is no siege on the hospital and that there is "ongoing intense fighting" between Israeli forces and Hamas near Shifa. Doctors at Shifa and Hamas militants both refute Israeli accusations that they are hiding out in hospitals.
Alarming sights from inside Shifa and other hospitals around Gaza have triggered worldwide demands for a ceasefire and more supplies to be let into the enclave, home to over 2 million Palestinians.
Across the United States, charitable medical organizations are banding together to gather money and provide lifesaving supplies to hospitals in danger of closing.
However, many are concerned that the delay would lead to additional fatalities given the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the lack of diplomatic or humanitarian alternatives.
Dar Al-Shifa, commonly known as Al-Shifa Hospital or Shifa, is Arabic for "house of healing," and is where Dr. Mohammed Ghneim works as a doctor in the emergency department. Unfortunately, there is an excessive amount of mortality at this facility, the biggest medical center in all of Gaza.
Palestinian doctor Ghneim responded by appealing for a global ceasefire and an end to the slaughter.
“„We are doing our best – this is why we haven’t left here for days – but the situation is very horrible. There’s no way to describe it in any language or with any words. Many times I want to go to the side and cry, but unfortunately there is no time.- Dr. Mohammed Ghneim
Casualities And Distractions At Al-Shifa Hospital
After days of intense fighting, hundreds of injured and displaced civilians have been left in the dark and with rapidly diminishing supplies in al-Shifa.
Doctors and humanitarian workers have warned that until fighting stops, patients will die. As Israel's effort to "crush" Hamas enters its sixth week, thousands more people are imprisoned in other health facilities in northern Gaza.
According to Al-Bursh, an Israeli bombardment knocked off power to the hospital, putting at risk the lives of 39 newborns who were receiving neonatal care. He also mentioned the deaths of three babies.
He claims that doctors are operating on children, even amputating limbs, without even basic medical supplies like anesthetic or antibiotics. Due to a shortage of available beds, several patients have been forced to be treated on the floor.
Israeli attacks at or near medical institutions have further complicated the problem, Muhanna, 49, says. Workers in the medical field are always at risk.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah reports that as of November 10th, 198 health care professionals had been murdered in Gaza, with another 130 injured. It also states that 51 primary care clinics and 21 hospitals are closed.
Israel Stand On Shifa Hospital Airstrike
Israel claims it is only striking Hamas because the group exploits hospitals as safe havens and launch pads for assaults. The Palestinian Ministry of Health and Hamas both strongly refute these allegations.
Israel claims that Palestinians should evacuate to safer places because it is trying to minimize collateral damage, which includes the killing of civilians and the destruction of key infrastructure like hospitals.
However, medical professionals in Gaza insist that there is nowhere safe to remove patients without increasing the number of casualties. Although both the hospital and Hamas have denied it, Israel thinks that al-Shifa is really the Hamas headquarters.
Israeli officials have ordered the evacuation of hospitals in northern Gaza, where they allege Hamas militants have set up command centers, along with the thousands of refugees who have sought sanctuary there.
The Israeli military has denied a "siege" of al-Shifa despite reports of heavy close-quarters combat in the vicinity. Israeli soldiers had observed "temporary tactical pauses" and established "humanitarian corridors" to let individuals caught by the battle to leave to comparatively safer zones to the south, they claimed.
Soldiers "opened and secured a passage which enables the civilian population to evacuate, on foot and by ambulances," according to a Sunday statement released by the Israeli military. This tunnel leads to the Shifa, Rantisi, and Nasser hospitals.
International pleas for a ceasefire have been ignored by Netanyahu thus far despite mounting pressure from even close allies. Netanyahu also made it plain that he intended Israel to have full security control after any fight, "with the ability to go in whenever we want in order to kill terrorists."
“„There will be no Hamas. There will be no civilian authority that educates their children to hate Israel, to kill Israelis, to destroy the state of Israel. There can’t be an authority there that pays the families of murderers. There needs to be something else there.- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Hamas Stand On Current Situation
However, Hamas claims they do not use hospitals in this manner. It is risky to evacuate because to Israeli fire, according to Palestinian authorities and medical workers, and moving patients might cause them harm.
A Hamas health official claimed that an Israeli airstrike had destroyed the hospital's cardiac ward, while the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Hamas's ally Islamic Jihad, reported that they were "engaged in violent clashes in the vicinity of al-Shifa medical complex" and several other locations in the northern part of Gaza.
Although witnesses reported hearing an explosion at the medical center, the Guardian was unable to corroborate this on its own.
International Community Concerns
According to reports of continuous assaults on a hospital in al-Shifa, Gaza, tens of thousands of displaced people are leaving the region, causing the World Health Organization to express extreme worry for their safety.
“„As horrifying reports of the hospital facing repeated attacks continue to emerge, we assume our contacts joined tens of thousands of displaced people and are fleeing the area.- World Health Organization
During the Israeli onslaught, around 11,000 Palestinians, including over 4,500 children and 3,000 women, have been murdered and many more have been injured.
Netanyahu has called for a truce in exchange for the return of hostages abducted by Hamas, but Israel is losing the war of public opinion throughout the world. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has called for an end to the bombardment of Gaza.
“„There is no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect … all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists.- Emmanuel Macron, the French president
There are around 2 million Palestinians living in Gaza, and the situation there has prompted worldwide appeals for a ceasefire and for additional assistance to be allowed into the region.
Across the United States, charitable medical organizations are banding together to gather money and provide lifesaving supplies to hospitals in danger of closing. However, many are concerned that the delay would lead to additional fatalities given the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the lack of diplomatic or humanitarian alternatives.
Mosab Nasser, CEO of the charitable medical organization FAJR Scientific, is planning a tour to raise money and awareness for Gaza's ailing hospitals. Funds will be used to stock five 20-foot containers to capacity with life-saving equipment and send them to Gaza.
The Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA), a non-profit organization established in the United States, is also in the forefront of initiatives to aid medical personnel in Gaza. The organization has collected nearly $2 million, which has been used to buy anesthetics, antibiotics, and other drugs to fill containers for shipment to Gaza.
Several different medical organizations in the United States, including FAJR Scientific and PAMA, are working together. However, few people have been able to go to hospitals that are under attack.
Since the conflict began, the Rafah crossing with Egypt has only been open to the 900 vehicles providing foreign supplies. The Palestinian Relief and Construction Society (PRCS) has issued a warning that greater humanitarian help is needed in Gaza.
Children are being killed in front of Al Awda Hospital's director Ahmad Muhanna's eyes in Jabalya, Gaza. According to him, surgeons are doing procedures without sterile water, anesthetics, or antibiotics, and patients are being treated on the floor rather than in beds. Israeli airstrikes exacerbate the crisis by killing 198 medical professionals and injuring 130 more.
Final Words
More than 11,000 Palestinians have already been killed during the Israeli air and ground onslaught, and many more injured, according to the Hamas-run health officials in Gaza. More than 3,000 mothers and 4,500 children have perished.
Doctors in Gaza are becoming more frustrated by the ongoing disarray at hospitals like Shifa and Al Awda. There is no sign of a truce, and with borders closely guarded, medical supplies cannot enter the country to save lives.
