Patients die as oxygen runs out in Gaza hospital seized by Israeli forces
- Last updated: February 17, 2024 | 11:21
Gaza's largest functioning hospital was under siege on Friday in Israel's war with Islamist group Hamas, leaving patients and doctors helpless in the chaos as warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the enclave, officials said.
Israeli forces remained in Nasser Hospital in the town of Khan Younis after raiding it early Thursday. The Gaza Health Ministry said five intensive care patients died on Friday due to power outages and lack of oxygen supply caused by the attack.
Troops were searching the facility, where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located.
As they searched, troops ordered the more than 460 staff, patients and their relatives to move into an older building in the compound that isn’t equipped to treat patients, the Gaza Health Ministry said. They were "in harsh conditions with no food or baby formula” and severe water shortages, it said.
The raid came after troops had besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. Hours before troops seized the hospital on Thursday, Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex, staff said.
Nasser Hospital was the latest in a series of hospitals Israeli forces have besieged and stormed during the war, claiming Hamas was using them for military purposes. The assaults have gutted Gaza’s health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments.
Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded Nasser Hospital for at least a week, with food, water and supplies inside dwindling and fire from outside killing several people inside, according to health officials.
Troops moved into the hospital on Thursday after the military said it had "credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages there and that the hostages’ remains might still be inside. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a "precise and limited” operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients.
Later on Thursday, Hagari said troops were still searching the hospital. He said dozens of 'militants' were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack. He also said troops found grenades and mortar shells, and that Israeli radar determined that 'militants' fired mortars from the hospital grounds a month ago. The claims could not be independently confirmed.
A released hostage told The Associated Press last month that she and over two dozen other captives had been held in Nasser Hospital.
International law prohibits the targeting of medical facilities, though they can lose those protection if they are used for military purposes. Even then, Israel must take precautions and follow principles of proportionality, the UN Human Rights Office said, adding that "as the occupying power” Israel has the duty to maintain medical facilities.
Raed Abed, a wounded patient who was among those who left the hospital on Wednesday, said days of siege had left the facility with no water or food, "Garbage is everywhere. Sewage has flooded the emergency ward.”
Still suffering from a severe stomach wound, Abed said he and others waited outside for hours as troops made those leaving pass by five at a time, arresting some and making them strip to their innerwear, he said. Finally, he walked for kilometres until he reached the border town of Rafah, where he was put in a hospital. Lying in a bed there, he wheezed in pain from his wound as he spoke.
Negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday pushed back hard against the US vision for after the war – particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Netanyahu wrote on X that Israel will not accept "international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians.”
He said that if other countries unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, it would give a "reward to terrorism.”
Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attack are freed. In their phone call, Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a "credible and executable plan” to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said.
With the war showing no sign of ending, the risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group had THE deadliest exchange of fire along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon for a second day on Thursday after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters on Wednesday in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others.
Agencies