Intl. Doctors relay the horrific scenes from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital

Before going to Gaza, a group of international doctors prepared for the worst-case scenario, yet were still shocked by the brutal reality they were faced with as they saw the state of Palestinian children affected by the Israeli genocide. 

Stepping into Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive-care doctor from Jordan, relayed the horrifying images she witnessed of Palestinian children injured, burned, and killed by “Israel”.

The first story she told AP was of a toddler who was killed by an Israeli airstrike, sustaining a skull fracture, while his cousin, whose face was blown off in the strike, fought for her life right next to his body. 

She recounted the screams of a 10-year-old who was brought into the hospital as he yelled for his parents, who were killed in an airstrike. Next to him was his sister, whom he could not recognize because the flames from the blast had burned her entire body. 

Haj-Hassan shared the stories after completing a mere 10-hour shift. The Israeli genocide in Gaza has been ongoing for six months. 

“Painful scenes”…

the arrival of injured children to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the occupation’s targeting of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.#GazaHoloucast #GazaGenocide #MoscowAttack pic.twitter.com/ZahkTMiMdH

— malek ahmed (@Yemen___26) March 23, 2024

Read more: WHO has no data on over 600 evacuated Al-Aqsa patients, staff in Gaza

The state of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital

Out of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, only a dozen are left partially functioning, causing an overflow in patients, far surpassing the hospitals’ capabilities considering the limited amount of medical supplies. 

In Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, where Haj-Hassan and her colleagues stayed due to intense Israeli raids on the neighborhood, doctors spent most of their time resuscitating children, Tanya said. Units were filled with children relying on oxygen masks to breathe. 

Breaking: The power generators at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital have stopped due to the Israeli blockade, leading to the death of two sick children after oxygen ran out. pic.twitter.com/aljVS9wfxp

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) March 20, 2024

Mustafa Abu Qassim, a nurse from the international group of medical personnel volunteering in Gaza, said there are no rooms to treat patients in. “When we look for patients, there are no rooms,” he said. “They are in the corridors on a bed, a mattress, or on a blanket on the floor.”

Before “Israel” launched its war on Gaza, 160 beds were available in the hospital. Right now, Al-Aqsa Hospital has to cater for over 800 patients with no accommodation. Moreover, the 120-person medical staff in the hospital cannot arrive to work, because of the restrictions imposed by “Israel”. 

Abu Qassim said health workers either cannot attend their jobs, as many are busy trying to find food for their families, or they bring their children to work to ensure their safety, calling it a “miserable” reality. 

Thousands of displaced Palestinians have also taken shelter at different hospitals, which are supposed to be protected during wartime under international humanitarian law. However, “Israel” has violated the charters of the law repeatedly, repeatedly targeting hospitals and hospital staff. 

Read more: Lack of oxygen from Israeli siege killing Gaza hospital patients

Partially functional hospitals besieged and raided 

On Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society revealed that Israeli occupation forces are besieging the Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Gaza, in addition to the continued siege of Al-Shifa Hospital. 

The IOF renewed aggression against the two hospitals in Khan Younis and enclosed their vicinities with military vehicles. 

Al-Amal came under heavy and indiscriminate Israeli fire, killing a volunteer worker, Amir Abu Aisha, the PRCS reported. Moreover, Israeli drone broadcast messages demanded that all patients, medical workers, and Palestinians at the hospital leave naked. However, all entrances were shut by dirt barriers. 

“All of our crews are currently under extreme danger and cannot move at all.

On March 18, Israeli occupation forces forced multiple families out of streets and buildings surrounding the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City where they had taken shelter.

Occupation forces continue to randomly shell and fire at citizens in the area while raiding several homes in the area. The Israeli military also demanded all Palestinian citizens immediately leave the al-Rimal neighborhood and the Al-Shifa Medical Complex after it launched an attack on the medical facility for the second time since the war on Gaza began.

Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent reported that around 30,000 Palestinians were besieged in the medical complex, which is coming under the direct fire of Israeli artillery and strikes. The medical complex also hosts around 5,000 wounded people. 

Following their initial attack, Israeli occupation forces committed another atrocious massacre in the Gaza Strip, executing 50 Palestinian citizens in Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the Gaza Media Office announced.

Read more: Israeli war on Gaza health sector ongoing, more hospitals under siege