Dozens killed, injured in Israeli bombardment of civilians near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza

By Mustafa Haboush

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Wednesday in intense Israeli army shelling near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City as they were breaking their fast on the 10th day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The artillery bombardment resulted in widespread fires in the areas, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, and forcing hundreds to flee to eastern Gaza City neighborhoods such as Tuffah, Zeitoun, Shejaiya, and Sabra, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

The correspondent said several Palestinians from the Abu Hasira and Haboush families had been killed, including a woman and her son who were collecting water on their house's roof.

He reported that the shelling “destroyed a large number of residential buildings in the areas surrounding the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, and also destroyed the nearby Al-Nurain Tower, as well as four adjacent residential houses.”

The correspondent reported the “accumulation of the bodies of dozens of martyrs in the streets of the areas surrounding the medical complex, as a result of the Israeli shelling.”

In this context, the correspondent mentioned widespread clashes between the Israeli army and elements of Palestinian factions.

Thousands of people are still trapped in Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings due to the heavy shelling, he said, adding that those trapped “do not have any food, and the available water is very scarce and contaminated.”

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala