U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the need to safeguard hospitals and expressed his desire for a more restrained approach by Israel. However, on Monday, Israeli tanks moved closer to the main hospital in Gaza City, a key target in Israel’s campaign against Hamas.
Separately, the Palestinian militant group’s armed branch declared it was prepared to release as many as seventy women and children detained in Gaza in return for a five-day ceasefire in the conflict that was sparked by Hamas’s Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel. Speaking from inside Al Shifa Hospital, spokesperson for the Gaza health ministry Ashraf Al-Qidra stated that the hospital’s siege in northern Gaza and power outages had claimed the lives of thirty-two patients in the last three days, including three newborns.
Over 650 patients remained within the facility, urgently seeking relocation to another medical center. Israel alleges that the hospital is situated above tunnels serving as a Hamas fighters’ headquarters, with the group purportedly using patients as human shields. Hamas, however, denies these accusations. Dr. Ahmed El Mokhallalati, a surgeon at the hospital, conveyed over the phone that the hospital is facing a complete blockade, with tanks positioned at its front. The surrounding area is entirely populated by civilians, including hospital patients, doctors, and other non-combatants. Urgent intervention is needed to halt this situation, as the current conditions are making survival at the hospital extremely challenging.
Over the weekend, Biden made his first remarks since the disclosure of patient deaths at Shifa Hospital. He stated that hospitals ought to be safeguarded. Biden expressed his optimism for reduced intervention in hospitals, emphasizing ongoing communication with the Israelis. He discussed talks with the Qataris aimed at securing a temporary halt for managing the release of prisoners. While there was a degree of optimism, Biden emphasized the crucial need to safeguard hospitals. The Israeli campaign aimed at eradicating Hamas, the Gaza Strip’s Islamist group, began last month in response to Hamas attacks in southern Israel, resulting in significant casualties and hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israel’s count.
Since then, an Israeli military operation has resulted in the deaths of thousands of Gazans and the displacement of two-thirds of the population. The northern half of Gaza is to be evacuated, per an order from Israel. More than 11,000 deaths have been documented, according to Gaza’s medical officials, with almost 40% of those victims being minors. Israel’s military on Monday released images and video of what it claimed were weaponry the group kept in the basement of Rantissi Hospital, a pediatric facility that specializes in cancer treatment. Israel claims that Hamas hospitals function as military installations.
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