Doctors in Gaza City performed surgery on floors, often without anaesthesia, in a frantic attempt to save seriously injured victims of an Israeli air assault that killed an estimated 500 Palestinians sheltering in the neighbouring Al Ahli Arab Hospital.
According to Gaza’s interior ministry, Israel maintained its air raids on Gaza on Wednesday, as global fury increased over what Russia called a “crime” by Israel. The hospital strike on Tuesday night resulted in devastating scenes.
Hundreds of Palestinians sought refuge in Gaza City’s Al Ahli Arab and other hospitals, hoping to avoid bombardment after Israel ordered all residents of the city and nearby regions to evacuate to the south of Gaza.
A video confirmed to be from the hospital showed the hospital grounds littered with charred dead, many of them young children, as fire devoured the structure. Blankets, school backpacks, and other items were strewn across the lawn.
The blast site was littered with burnt cars and the ground was darkened by debris on Wednesday morning.
According to ITS director, Mohammed Abu Selmia, ambulances and private cars brought approximately 350 patients to Gaza City’s main hospital, Al Shifa, which was already overwhelmed with casualties from prior attacks. According to Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al Qidra, victims arrived with severe injuries.
Doctors in the overcrowded hospital resorted to performing surgery on the floor and in the corridors, most of the time without anesthesia.
“We need equipment, we need medicine, we need beds, we need anesthesia, we need everything,” Abu Selmia said.
He warned that fuel for the hospital’s generators would run out within hours, forcing a complete shutdown, unless supplies enter the besieged enclave.
The carnage occurred as pressure rose on Israel to allow supplies to be delivered to desperate citizens, relief organizations, and hospitals in Gaza, which has been under a total siege since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. Hundreds of thousands of desperate individuals were looking for bread and water.
Also Read: Arab States Denounce Israel for the Hospital Bombing in Gaza, That Killed 500 People
