Palestine demands urgent int'l protection for people inside Gaza’s Shifa Hospital

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestine has called for urgent international protection for medical staff, patients and displaced people at Al-Shifa Hospital after the Israeli army raided the facility on Wednesday.

The Israeli raid “represents a flagrant violation of international law, international humanitarian law, and the Geneva Conventions, and an extension of all the violations and crimes committed by the occupation against our people,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It held the Israeli government "fully responsible for the safety of the medical staff and thousands of patients, displaced and children, including premature babies, inside the complex.”

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

According to Gaza’s government media office, there are around 1,500 medical staff, 700 patients, 39 premature babies, and 7,000 displaced people inside the medical complex.

As the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip entered its 40th day, at least 11,320 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,800 women and children, and more than 29,200 others 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