Israeli attack on Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital leaves 4-year-old girl's burn untreated

By Cagri Kosak

ISTANBUL (AA) - As the Israeli army mounted a raid on Gaza City's crucial Al-Shifa Hospital, many patients have found themselves once again the target of attack, including four-year-old Palestinian girl Saja Junaid.

Saja had been injured in an earlier Israeli attack on homes in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Northern Gaza receiving severe burns on her face and body. Since then, she has been clinging to life despite the agonizing pain.

The raid on Al-Shifa means the child's burn treatment had to be paused as her father takes her to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in southern Gaza, struggling to find treatment and food for his daughter.

Saja's deep burns were allegedly caused by prohibited weapons used by Israel in its offensive on the Palestinian territory since Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Palestinian group 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.