A number of hospitals based in Gaza have been caught amid the fierce conflict between Israel and the terrorist group Hamas.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 36 health facilities, as well as 22 hospitals, have been damaged since the beginning of the war on Oct. 7.
According to BBC News, Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, has been a major focus lately in terms of hospitals under attack in Gaza, with thousands of people trapped due to nearby battles while other facilities are struggling with a lack of supplies and power.
Al-Shifa, which has 700 beds, has ceased being functional amid the ongoing war, and there was a “dire and perilous” inside the hospital.
Although Israel says Hamas operates in tunnels underneath the hospital, Hamas has denied that claim. Meanwhile, the hospital noted that leaving is not possible because it can result in potential injury or even death.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO director general, said on X that "constant gunfire and bombings in the area have exacerbated the already critical circumstances".
As noted by the Hamas-run health ministry, there are at least 2,300 people who remain inside the hospital, including 650 patients, 200-500 staff, and around 1,500 people in need of shelter.
Moreover, Hospital staff said three of 39 infants died at the hospital last weekend due to the lack of incubators, while surviving babies are currently at risk of death..
During an interview with CBS News program “Face the Nation,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Biden administration has expressed concern with Israel regarding possible civilian losses at the Al-Shifa hospital, The Times of Israel reports.
“The United States does not want to see firefights in hospitals where innocent people, patients receiving medical care, are caught in the crossfire. And we’ve had active consultations with the Israel Defense Forces on this,” Sullivan told the CBS News program “Face the Nation.”
He added that the IDF is currently working on protecting the safety of patients “while they also try to figure out a way to try to deal with the fact that Hamas is operating in a way that is outside the bounds of any civilized concept of how you would think about using a hospital, using human shields.”
“It’s an active conversation, but the bottom line is that we do not want to see firefights in hospitals,” he added.
Suvillian also backed the claim brought about by Israel that Hamas is using the hospital as a base of operations.
“Without getting into intelligence information, we can just look at the open source reporting that Hamas is using hospitals as it uses many facilities for command-and-control, for weapons storage, to house its fighters, and this is a violation of the laws of war,” he said.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Christopher Furlong / Staff
Video Courtesy: CBN News via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
