Israeli army expels children, patients from Al- Shifa Hospital: Health official

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Israeli army expelled children, patients and their companions from the Al-Shifa Hospital “on foot,” Mohammed Zaqout, the head of Gaza Hospitals, said at a news conference in front of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

He said: “650 other patients are still in the hospital, including 22 in intensive care, in addition to 36 premature babies are still in the hospital,” he said.

The Israeli army raided Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, early Wednesday.

Zaqout noted that there are “at least 400 health care workers and 2,000 displaced people in the hospital it needed to treat and safely evacuate.”

He held the Israeli occupation "fully responsible for the safety of the medical staff and thousands of patients, displaced and children''

He also called for "urgent delivery of fuel that is running out to Al-Shifa Hospital and other medical facilities."

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 40th day, at least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 7,800 women and children, and over 29,200 have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities.

Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's relentless air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave since last month.

The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara