Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital Overwhelmed as Israeli Forces Close In

Doctors at Al-Shifa, one of Gaza City’s last functioning hospitals, say they are treating waves of casualties from Israeli strikes under dire conditions, with little medicine and almost no anaesthetics. According to a BBC report, medics describe every day as a “mass casualty event,” with operations often carried out on patients in unsanitary wards, without painkillers, and on blood-stained beds.

Australian volunteer doctors recounted harrowing cases, including saving a baby delivered by emergency Caesarean from a decapitated pregnant woman, and children waiting days for surgeries due to shortages of staff and supplies.

Israeli tanks are now less than 500 metres from the hospital as the military advances into Gaza City, which it calls Hamas’s “main stronghold.” Witnesses say armour is pushing in from multiple directions, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee daily amid heavy bombardment.

The UN estimates that more than 320,000 residents have fled northern Gaza in recent weeks, while Israeli figures suggest nearly 640,000. Many face soaring evacuation costs and overcrowded, unsafe conditions in southern shelters.

Hospitals across Gaza continue to shut down or evacuate under fire, with the Palestine Red Crescent warning that oxygen supplies are running out. The WHO confirmed strikes have destroyed a major healthcare centre providing trauma and cancer care.

The war, now in its 23rd month, began after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw over 250 taken hostage. Gaza’s health ministry says at least 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since.