Israeli Tanks Have Gaza Hospitals Surrounded As UN Decries "Hell On Earth"
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israeli-tanks-have-gaza-hospitals-surrounded-un-decries-hell-earth
After reports emerged starting Wednesday and Thursday that Israeli tanks had pushed to the center of Gaza City, Palestinian officials have said tanks have drawn close to and have surrounded key hospitals where thousands of Palestinians are taking shelter as wounded patients are receiving treatment. They said Friday that air strikes have hit the Strip's biggest hospital, Al Shifa, killing at least one and wounding several others.
Other hospitals were were also reportedly struck at dawn, including strikes on the grounds of the Indonesian Hospital and the Rantissi cancer hospital, according to eyewitnesses cited in Reuters. Sprawling tent encampments of the internally displaced can be seen on the hospital campuses, but Israel claims that Hamas has 'terror tunnels' underneath, and further that the group has a base of operations in Rantissi hospital. Civilians waiving white flags have been trapped, in at least one instance coming under fire while trying to escape. Gazan authorities say the Israel's military is firing on them, while Israel claims Hamas is shooting its own people to keep them as "human shields".
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tanks have been observed near these hospitals, with some unconfirmed video evidence emerging that civilians taking shelter there have been hit either by IDF snipers, artillery, or possibly drone strikes.
The Israeli military has ordered the immediate evacuation of these hospitals but people reportedly have not moved, fearing any attempt to exit will be more dangerous.
The White House announced Thursday that Israel agreed to implement daily four-hour pauses in fighting to facilitate a humanitarian corridor for civilians to flee south, but it's unclear how this will effect standoff situations where civilian enclaves are surrounded by tanks.
Al Jazeera, which has correspondents on the ground, says that tanks are within a mere hundreds of meters of some of the hospitals in question: "Using tanks and armored vehicles, they have closed a roughly 100-metre perimeter around these hospitals, still sheltering thousands of wounded and displaced people," the Friday report says.
The moment the Al Shifa Hospital courtyard was struck last night as displaced civilians slept. Body parts blown off. You can hear the pain in the screams.
At least 2 other hospitals were bombed in the same night.
There are no words to describe this level of barbarity. None. pic.twitter.com/87wacC1MvX
— Hamza (@Hamza_a96) November 10, 2023
"People have sent appeals from inside al-Rantisi Hospital and Nasser Hospital, asking to be allowed to flee," Al Jazeera writes.
And yet the situation is growing more dangerous for civilians as the bombs fall. Gaza health ministry has alleged that Israeli jets struck al-Shifa Hospital buildings five times since Thursday night. This sent some of the civilians leaving for more potentially safe areas.
"They shelled the maternity department and the outpatient clinics building. One Palestinian was killed and several were wounded in the early morning attack," the health ministry said.
Heavy and back to back Israeli air strikes bombed the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital. This is what they refer to as a fire belt. No place is safe in Gaza.
Video by Feras Al-Ajrami pic.twitter.com/6usNA1eWCO
— MoTaz (@azaizamotaz9) November 10, 2023
The ministry said in response to the IDF's evacuation order: "We are talking about 45 babies in incubators, 52 children in intensive care units, hundreds of wounded and patients, and tens of thousands of displaced people." There are conflicting reports of casualties as gunfights have been reported on the perimeter of Shifa hospital, with reports of IDF special forces operating there:
However, according to AFP, a government statement claimed that there were “thirteen martyrs and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on Al-Shifa compound today,” and hospital director Mohammad Abu Salmiya alleged that “Israeli tanks fired on Al-Shifa hospital.”
Israel has alleged that a Hamas military quarter lies adjacent to Shifa Hospital and has called the area "the heart" of Hamas’s intelligence and operational activities.
Meanwhile the UN and aid organizations have had new issues getting trucks into the Strip and to the necessary locations amid "hell on Earth" - as the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described.
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