Israel’s raid on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital has brought “terror and death” to the thousands trapped inside, witnesses say.
The Israeli military has acted brutally during its assault on Wednesday, visiting violence and humiliation on patients, staff and displaced people, those inside Gaza’s largest hospital told Al Jazeera.
Thousands have been caught in al-Shifa for days as Israeli forces have focused attacks on the area around the complex, which it has asserted harbours a Hamas base. Reports say food and water have been scarce while decomposing corpses have been accumulating.
Omar Zaqout, an emergency room employee at al-Shifa, said that Israeli soldiers have “detained and brutally assaulted some of the men who were taking refuge at the hospital”.
“Israeli forces took the detained men naked and blindfolded. [They] did not bring any aid or supplies, they only brought terror and death,” he said, adding that the army has surrounded every building within the hospital complex.
“More than 180 dead bodies are deteriorating and are still lying in the hospital’s yard,” he said. “The situation is very terrifying, gunshots are heard everywhere in the hospital’s perimeters.”
Ahmed El Mokhallalati, a surgeon, told Al Jazeera from inside the hospital that the occupying army brought tanks within the hospital after “continuous, aggressive gunshots, bombardments and attacks since yesterday evening”.
“It’s a totally scary time; it’s a horrible time for the families, the civilians sheltering in the hospital with their kids. It’s terrible for the staff who are taking care of their patients and the patients themselves,” he said.
Source: Aljazeera.com
