Israeli Raids Al-Shifa Hospital, Medical Staff Under Interrogation

As the war on Gaza enters its 40th day, Israel’s ground invasion has reached Al-Shifa Hospital – with multiple medical workers under interrogation and patients in a state of fear.

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Update 10: Palestinian Minister of Health Mai Alkaila delivered a speech condemning Israel’s aggression and the international community’s inaction to implement a ceasefire.

Since the start of the war, the Israeli army killed 198 Palestinian doctors, nurses, and paramedics, targeted 55 ambulances, and put 25 hospitals out of service.

Update 9: The Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza, Thomas White, posted on X on 15 November clarifying that the fuel truck sent through Rafah has been restricted by Israeli authorities to only be used for transporting aid. Fuel is still needed to maintain hospital operations, power the city, and keep water tanks running.

“This is only 9% of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities,” White added.

Update 8: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged Israel to end its “indiscriminate killing of Palestinians” during a speech on 15 November. This is the harshest criticism by Sanches since the outbreak of the war on 7 October. He later reiterated in the speech that he still “stands with Israel” and its decision to combat Hamas.

Update 7: The first truck to deliver fuel into Gaza began crossing from Egypt on Wednesday, 15 November.

This came after Israel approved the entry of 24,000 litres (6,340 gallons) of diesel fuel to be used by UN aid distribution trucks.

Update 6: The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, is “appalled” by the news of Israel’s ongoing raid in Al-Shifa Hospital.

“The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns. Hospitals are not battlegrounds,” tweeted Griffiths.

Update 5: Belize suspended all diplomatic relations with Israel on 14 November. They are now the second Latin American nation to cut ties with Israel in the wake of its “unceasing indiscriminate bombing” its government declared.

Update 4: A doctor working in Al-Shifa Hospital informed Reuters on 15 November that staff and patients were avoiding windows amid gunfires coming from outside the medical facility.

Update 3: The Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, visited Gaza on 14 November, releasing a press statement a day after highlighting the plight of the children trapped in the war.

“Today I visited the Gaza Strip to meet with children, their families and UNICEF staff. What I saw and heard was devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement. Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn,” Russell said.

Update 2: A monument of the late Palestinian Liberation Organization Yasser Arafat in the West Bank was demolished by an Israeli bulldozer on 15 November. The monument, located near the Tulkarm refugee camp, was demolished a day after Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians in the same area.

Update 1: Israel’s military forces broke into Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, on the morning of 15 November. Dr Ahmed El Mokhallati, a surgeon at the hospital, informed Al Jazeera that patients are in a state of fear over the ongoing raid. El Mokhallati also denied Israel’s claims that Hamas has a command center underneath the hospital.

THE CONFLICT SO FAR

After a surprise attack conducted on 7 October by Hamas on a number of southern Israeli towns which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,200 people and more than 220 being taken hostage by Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory bombing campaign against what it describes as ‘terrorist targets’ in the Gaza Strip.

Over 11,360 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip — including at least 4,609 children — and over 27,490 others injured. Meanwhile, at least 183 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and at least 2,700 have been injured.

The priority of the Egyptian government since the beginning of the conflict has been deescalation and the securing of a path for aid to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. Israel bombed the crossing at least six times, and limited aid trucks have crossed to Gaza so far, which UN officials warn is insufficient amid dire humanitarian conditions.

Most Western countries, with the United States at the forefront, have expressed unconditional support for Israel, despite the steadily rising death toll in Gaza. Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly has issued a resolution calling for a ceasefire.