Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza has turned into a temple filled with corpses

The World Health Organization condemned on Saturday the “massive destruction” to the largest hospital in Gaza as a result of the recent Israeli siege, and it has become an “empty structure” except for corpses.
Members of the World Health Organization mission who were able to reach the destroyed facility on Friday described horrific scenes of bodies only partially buried, with limbs protruding, and the smell of decomposing bodies.

Israeli forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Monday after a two-week military operation during which they said they clashed with Palestinian fighters inside what was previously the most important medical complex in the Palestinian enclave.

A World Health Organization mission was able to enter the hospital on Friday after several failed attempts since March 25, according to the United Nations body, which condemned the massive destruction there.
She found massive destruction and heard testimonies that patients were “held in squalid conditions” during the siege and that many of them died.
A post by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on the .
The World Health Organization said in a statement that no patients remained in the hospital, as “several shallow graves” had been dug outside the emergency department and administrative and surgical buildings.
She added, “Many of the bodies were partially buried and their limbs were visible.”
The organization confirmed that the team examined “at least five bodies lying on the ground, partially covered and exposed to the heat.”
She continued, “The team reported a strong smell of decomposing bodies sweeping through the hospital complex.”
The World Health Organization stressed that “preserving dignity, even in the event of death, is an indispensable humanitarian act.”
The mission, conducted in cooperation with other UN agencies and the acting director of the hospital, found that “the extent of the destruction rendered the facility completely inoperable.”
Tedros said that team members also noticed that “the majority of the buildings of the hospital complex suffered massive damage and that most of the assets were damaged or turned into ashes.”
The WHO said the hospital’s acting director described how patients were “held in miserable conditions during the siege.”
“They suffered from severe shortages of food, water, health care, hygiene and sanitation, and were forced to move between buildings at gunpoint,” she added.
She indicated that at least 20 patients died “due to the lack of access to care and the limited movement allowed for the medical staff.”
Tedros expressed his regret that efforts by the World Health Organization and other relief organizations to resume basic services at Al-Shifa Hospital after Israel’s first devastating raid on the hospital last year “were in vain, and people were once again deprived of access to life-saving health care services.”
He continued, “Even restoring the operational minimum in the short term does not seem possible,” adding, “There is a need for an in-depth evaluation by a team of engineers to determine whether the remaining buildings are safe for future use.”
Of the 36 main hospitals in Gaza, only ten are partially functioning, according to the World Health Organization.
Over the past six months, Israel has relentlessly bombed the besieged, densely populated Palestinian enclave, killing at least 33,137 people, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Tedros stressed that there is a need to take urgent action in Gaza with “looming famine, outbreaks of disease, and increasing trauma infections.”
He called for “protecting the remaining health facilities in Gaza (and) protecting health and humanitarian workers.”
The Director-General of the World Health Organization called for “unhindered access of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip” and a “ceasefire.”
He also called for the establishment of an “effective deconfliction mechanism,” referring to the process of coordinating aid missions in advance with the Israeli army to ensure their security.
The World Health Organization indicated that despite coordination with the Israeli authorities, “yesterday’s mission faced significant delays at the military checkpoint on its way to Al-Shifa Hospital.”
She said that “between mid-October and the end of March, more than half of all WHO missions were rejected, delayed, obstructed or postponed” by the Israelis.
“As health needs grow, the lack of an effective deconfliction system represents a major obstacle to delivering humanitarian aid – including medical supplies, fuel, food and water to hospitals – at a near-required volume,” she added.