In 2008, a New York Times report also said that Hamas militants posing as hospital orderlies shot an alleged collaborator in the hospital as he lay on a stretcher. Five others were murdered the same way in the previous 24 hours, the report alleged.
Last night Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, doubled down on his own claims that Hamas was using hospitals’ civilian populations as human shields. The IDF, he said, had offered fuel to Shifa and safe evacuation routes out for staff and patients, but Hamas was “doing everything in its power to keep them in harm’s way.”
“We’ve called to evacuate all the patients from Shifa, and 100 or so have already been evacuated,” he told CNN. “There’s no reason why we can’t just take the patients out of there.”
Pointing out that Hamas still held 239 Israelis hostage, he also asked rhetorically what America would do if faced with a similar situation. “It would take all its force and go after these killers,” he said. “And what if these killers embed themselves in hospitals and schools?”
Mr Netanyahu also said that now was not the time to discuss whether he should be blamed for the security failings that led to last month’s Hamas massacre.
“Did people ask Franklin Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor? Did people ask George W. Bush after 9/11?” he said.
“I’m going to answer all the questions that are required, including the responsibility, there’ll be enough time for that after the war, let’s focus on victory. That’s my responsibility.”
The Israeli leader also got words of support from Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, who said yesterday that he opposed an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, despite growing international calls for a halt to the conflict.
“I freely admit that I don’t think the calls for an immediate ceasefire or long pause – which would amount to the same thing – are right, because that would mean ultimately that Israel leaves Hamas the possibility of recovering and obtaining new missiles,” Mr Scholz said.
The IDF later said it attempted to supply Shifa with 300 litres of fuel but Hamas prevented the hospital from receiving it. The fuel was left in jerry cans near the hospital, in co-ordination with staff, but Hamas the IDF said it received “evidence” that Hamas officials had stepped in to stop the delivery.
The IDF has already been involved in organising evacuations at two other hospitals, Nasser and Rantisi, co-ordinating safe passage via talks between hospital officials and IDF Arabic language speakers. It also offered yesterday to evacuate the 37 babies from Shifa, following reports from medics that three other infants had already died.
“We lost electricity to the main ICU and to the neonatal ICU,” said Dr Marwan Abusada, head of surgery at Shifa hospital. “It is a very dangerous, very critical situation.”
Major Libby Weiss, an Israeli military spokesman, told the BBC: “The IDF is not targeting the Shifa hospital. We are responding to fire that is being launched by Hamas adjacent to the hospital, which I think just symbolizes the disregard that Hamas has certainly for hospitals and other civilian areas.”
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
