DUBAI, November 20. /TASS/. At least 250 patients were unable to comply with the Israeli authorities' order to leave the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.
According to the TV channel, the fate of at least 250 patients remains unknown. Al Jazeera said that "those who are critically injured remain in the hospital due to the seriousness of their condition and their fate now is unknown because there is no food and medical supplies reaching the Al-Shifa Hospital." "It is unclear how they can be evacuated when there’s not even enough ambulances to transport them," the media outlet added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on November 19 that over 300 patients, including 32 babies in critical condition, remained at the Al-Shifa Hospital. According to the WHO, there are also "29 patients with serious spinal injuries who are unable to move without medical assistance." "Many trauma patients have severely infected wounds due to lack of infection control measures in the hospital and unavailability of antibiotics," the WHO noted.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said later that 31 babies had been evacuated to southern Gaza to be transferred to the UAE.
On November 15, the Israeli military began storming the Al-Shifa Hospital, where it claims the radical Palestinian movement Hamas has its main command headquarters. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also said that there were several underground facilities under the medical center where some 200 radicals were hiding and the hostages kidnapped in the October 7 attack were being kept. The military added that while searching the hospital area, troops had found the entrance to a tunnel and a motor vehicle filled with weapons.