By entering Al-Shifa, Gaza's main hospital, on Wednesday, November 15, the Israeli army signaled to the last remaining Palestinians in the city that it no longer was a refuge. Contrary to the fears of the displaced persons, who have been leaving the site by the hundreds since it was partially surrounded on November 10, It was not a full-scale military assault that the soldiers carried out: It was an intimidation operation. By emptying the hospital, the army is attacking the nerve center of a city that had a million inhabitants before the war, and which is now largely depopulated and destined for ruin.
Six weeks of massive, indiscriminate bombardment, followed by a slow, methodical ground operation starting on October 13, have already partly destroyed this coastal city, which until the 9th century was a crossroads for trade routes from the East to the Mediterranean. It is now returning to its 1917 appearance, after trench warfare during which Turkish and British artillery razed the city to the ground. The health authorities in the enclave, formerly administered by Hamas, counted at least 11,000 dead and 1.6 million displaced as of November 16.
Israeli tanks entered Al-Shifa, located near the seafront on the southern side of the Al-Shati refugee camp, which the army took control of on Tuesday morning, at around 2 am. On Thursday morning, soldiers were still there, according to the army's main spokesperson, Daniel Hagari. They were due to continue their search, having so far failed to provide proof that the hospital's basements housed a major Hamas military base – something that the hospital's management denies. On Wednesday, the army broadcast only images of some infantry equipment (automatic weapons, grenades, bullet-proof waistcoats and Hamas insignia).
The soldiers first entered an emergency surgery department, before moving into the medical imaging and radiology department, chasing away medical staff and patients, searching and questioning the men. "The soldiers are in our building and in the courtyard," a medical worker, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from the Israeli army, told Le Monde by telephone on Wednesday. "Some civilians have been arrested by the army. We, the medical workers, have not been arrested."
According to the Ministry of Health, 40 patients died on Tuesday at Al-Shifa, which has largely ceased to function due to the fighting around its premises and the lack of electricity, medical supplies, oxygen, food and water. The same applies to the 24 health facilities in the north of Gaza, all targeted by the army. Only the Al-Ahli Hospital is still able to provide care for its patients, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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