179 including kids buried in mass grave inside Al-Shifa Hospital premises in Gaza
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Gaza: The Director of Al Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital, on Tuesday said that at least 179 people have been buried in a mass grave inside the hospital premises, media reports said.
“We were forced to bury them in a mass grave,” said Director Mohammad Abu Salmiya, adding that seven babies and 29 patients from the intensive care patients are among those buried, Al Jazeera reported.
The hospital, in a statement, said that the bodies were buried after the hospital's fuel supplies ran out and were in a state of decomposition.
Orthopaedic surgeon Fadel Naim, based in Gaza, said that the patients with injuries “up to the moderate level” have to undergo surgery without anaesthesia because of a lack of medical supplies.
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“It’s to preserve the remaining supply of anaesthesia, which is on the verge of depletion at any moment, for major and critical surgeries,” he wrote on X.
Al Jazeera reported that the pain experienced by the patients during the surgical interventions without anaesthesia is beyond what humanity can endure.
The Al Shifa Hospital was cut off from the world for over 72 hours last week after a deadly blockade by Israeli forces that included tanks at the front gates.
Tel Aviv insists the hospital sits atop a network of tunnels that form part of the Hamas' underground headquarters. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals and patients as human shields, an accusation the Hamas and Gaza health officials have denied.
According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel has dropped more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives on Gaza since October 7, equivalent to two nuclear bombs.
Also Read:Israeli bombardment of refugee camp in Gaza kills 31
Satellite imagery and photographs show entire neighbourhoods have been levelled, with many hospitals, schools, places of worship and homes damaged or destroyed by Israeli land, sea and air attacks.
Entire communication systems and water treatment plants have also been disabled, Al Jazeera reported.
The United Nations believes thousands, and perhaps more than 10,000 - including patients, staff and displaced civilians may be inside Al Shifa and unable to escape because of fierce fighting nearby.
Al Quds, a second major hospital in the area, has also been cut off from the world for a week.
Earlier today, a heart-breaking image emerged from the same hospital - of seven babies bundled together, some in hospital-green fabric and others with tubes sticking out of them.
With inputs from agencies
