The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Destruction of Al-Shifa hospital ‘rips heart out of Gaza health system’: WHO
The Israeli military's raid of Al-Shifa hospital in the past two weeks has destroyed Gaza's biggest medical facility, “ripping the heart out” of the enclave's healthcare system, the UN World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
“It was the tertiary care center, it was a huge hospital: 750 beds, 25 operating theaters, 30 intensive care rooms. It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides,” explained Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson.
Israeli special forces left the Gaza City hospital on Monday, after a two-week operation in which they reported the detention of hundreds of suspected Palestinian militants. Israel said Hamas fighters had based themselves there; Hamas and medical staff deny the allegations.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dr Harris said the hospital “directors told us that Al-Shifa hospital has ‘gone’, it’s no longer able to function in any way, shape or form as a hospital. At least 21 patients died during the period of the siege. We also know that the staff had to bring the patients together in a building that wasn't even a clinical building. It was a human resources administration area. They had no water, food, they were sharing one bottle of water between 15 people,” she added.
If permission is granted on Tuesday to reach Al-Shifa and northern Gaza’s last few remaining health facilities, priorities for WHO teams include bringing medicines, fuel and food – and assessing what additional supplies are needed to save the remaining patients. The WHO says the agency has been trying to go “for days and days” and most of the missions have been rejected.
The development comes amid renewed safety concerns for aid operations in the Gaza Strip after World Central Kitchen reported that an Israeli airstrike on one of its vehicles had killed seven aid workers in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. Images of the NGO vehicle show a large hole in its roof.
WHO’s Dr Harris maintained that the NGO mission had been agreed with the Israeli authorities ahead of time. “This was an agreed mission with this team, it was ‘de-conflicted’. ‘De-conflicted’ means both sides know they are coming, both sides have agreed. The car was well marked, it was very clear it was World Central Kitchen. Now this is happening,” she said. “And remember, hundreds of health care workers have been killed while doing their job,” along with thousands of civilians, including 13,000 children, amid constant Israeli bombardment launched after Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead and more than 350 taken hostage.
A UN health agency team also intends to visit Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City where there are already dire concerns about the growing number of babies being born too underweight to survive.
The facility is already admitting at least 15 malnourished children per day and the needs are growing, according to the WHO. In a renewed call for a ceasefire, Dr Harris insisted that “the ceasefire, the UN resolution – the world has agreed a ceasefire must happen. It should have happened months ago, but it must happen now.”
Ends
Story: Gaza Al-Shifa hospital destroyed – WHO – 02 April 2024
Speaker is Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson
TRT: 2’04”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 02 April 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley
- Wide shot of Press conference room with journalists
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “The directors told us that Al-Shifa hospital has ‘gone’, that it's no longer able to function in any shape or form as a hospital. We know that at least 21 patients died during the period of the siege. We also know that the staff had to bring the patients together in a building that wasn't even a clinical building. It was a human resources administration area. They had no water, food, they were sharing one bottle of water between 15 people.”
- Medium shot: Press room podium with speakers
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “Destroying Al-Shifa means ripping the heart out of the health system. It was the tertiary care center. It was a huge hospital: 750 beds, 25 operating theaters, 30 intensive care rooms. It was the place people go to for the kind of care that a really good health system provides.”
- Wide shot: Press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “This was an agreed mission with this team, it was ‘de-conflicted’. ‘De-conflicted’ means both sides know they are coming, both sides have agreed. The car was well marked, it was very clear it was World Central Kitchen. Now this is happening. And remember, hundreds of health care workers have been killed while doing their job. Ambulance drivers and, of course, thousands of civilians, more than 13,000 of them children.”
- Wide shot of Press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson: “The ceasefire, the UN resolution, the world has agreed: a ceasefire must happen. It should have happened months ago, but it must happen now.”
- Various shots of the Press room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO
Death and suffering in Gaza are ever-present and the enclave's people now have little choice but to risk their lives to fetch aid supplies, UN agencies said on Friday. “I met a little boy who was wounded by a tank shell at one of these sites on the final day of me leaving Gaza - I learnt that this little boy had since died of those injuries,” said UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder. “That speaks to both what is happening at these sites and what is not happening when it comes to medical evacuations.”
1
1
1
Edited News | UNCTAD
UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) launched today the World Investment Report 2025. Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11%, marking the second consecutive year of decline and confirming a deepening slowdown in productive capital flows, according to the report.
1
1
1
Edited News
Afghan journalist Zahra Nader fled twice due to Taliban rule, highlighting severe women's rights issues.
1
1
1
Edited News
Gazan photojournalist Motaz Azaiza documents war's impact, gaining global attention but facing personal peril.
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
As the Iran-Israel crisis continued into a sixth day, the UN deputy human rights chief Nada Al-Nashif called for urgent talks to end the continuing exchanges of missile attacks between Tehran and Tel-Aviv.
2
1
1
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Heavy fighting in Sudan continues to escalate as a “direct result” of the continued flow of arms into the country meaning that the war is far from over, top independent human rights investigators said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
More Gazans killed trying to get food, healthcare near to ‘full disaster’
Gaza’s health system is at breaking point, overwhelmed time and again by scores of patients killed or injured near aid distribution sites, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
La situation en République démocratique du Congo est aujourd’hui encore plus grave et alarmante, a averti lundi le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme Volker Türk.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, highlighting key issues and trends, and the human rights situation in some 60 countries.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
As diplomatic efforts continue to end fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN development agency (UNDP) issued an appeal on Friday on behalf of people uprooted by the violence to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The very real risk of famine continues to stalk Sudan’s communities impacted by war, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, in an appeal for more funding to support immediate needs and boost longer-term recovery across the country.
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
What can each one of us do to save the planet, asks Yann Arthus-Bertrand on World Environment Day
The last documentary film of legendary nature photographer, documentary director and environmental activist “Nature: The Call for Reconciliation” looks for an answer.