Al-Shifa Director Denies Israeli Claims of Incubator Support, Reveals Dire Situation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The director of al-Shifa Hospital, Muhammed Abu Salmiya, refutes Israel’s assertion of providing incubators, stating newborns lack vital medical supplies and premature babies have perished due to depleted oxygen levels in existing incubators.
“On some occasions, we are forced to leave patients to die because we are helpless...we cannot perform any surgical operations on them," says Salmiya, emphasizing the hospital's critical need for medical resources.
Salmiya disputes Israeli army claims of providing incubators, stating, "this is false. In addition, we are not in need of incubators; we have already incubators in the hospital, yet we are out of fuel to generate electricity [for the incubators]."
During the ongoing Israeli army raid at al-Shifa on Friday, the head of the burns unit reports the loss of intensive care patients and the deployment of snipers in the surrounding area.
The official said that they had lost most of the intensive care patients who were on ventilators and that snipers were deployed throughout the area surrounding the hospital.
Al-Shifa Hospital has become a focal point for Israeli strikes since the regime’s troops raided the complex on Wednesday, alleging that the Palestinian resistance movement was using it as a command center. Hospital managers categorically deny the claim.
Communications blackout compounds civilian distress as Gaza's main telecom companies cite depleted energy sources and restricted fuel access.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, warns that the blackout intensifies anxiety and panic, violating the Geneva Convention's prohibition on hospital attacks.
Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have repeatedly targeted hospitals, residential buildings, mosques, and churches. Under the Geneva Convention, attacks on hospitals are strictly prohibited.
Casualty reporting becomes challenging amid the blackout, emphasizing the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
On October 17, hundreds of civilians were killed and injured by Israeli airstrikes on al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. The attack has been condemned as an act of genocide by many around the world.
Several hospitals in Gaza City have become refuges for Palestinians hoping to be spared Israeli bombardments, which began early in October.
The Palestinian resistance movement has urged the United Nations secretary-general to form an international committee to visit hospitals in the besieged strip to counter Israel’s “false” claims that they are used as launch pad for anti-Israel operations. The movement has noted that the claims are aimed to “justify” Israel’s attacks on hospitals in Gaza.
Also on Friday, an Israeli strike targeted al-Falah School, which houses thousands of displaced people, in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City, leaving a large number of people killed and injured.
Israel also continued its fatal air and artillery strikes on other parts of Gaza, including the southern province of Khan Yunis.
