Al-Shifa Hospital

When Israel reoccupied Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, the entire Egyptian administration and staff in the hospital were taken prisoner.[10] By 1969, the department of internal medicine grew to contain several sub-departments.[11] The hospital underwent a major Israeli renovation in the 1980s as part of a showcase project to improve the living conditions of Gaza residents.[5]

Much of the media coverage of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict was broadcast or written by correspondents reporting from the hospital.[12]

The two Norwegian medical doctors, Erik Fosse and Mads Gilbert, have done humanitarian work at the hospital. [13]

During the Fatah–Hamas conflict, Fatah attacked the hospital, drawing Hamas fire from within the building.[14] Some injured people brought to the hospital were killed by Hamas militants once inside. A doctor in the hospital reported “The medical staff are suffering from fear and terror, particularly of the Hamas fighters, who are in every corner of the hospital.”[15]

During the Gaza War (2008–2009), Al-Shifa hospital overflowed with Palestinians injured by Israeli airstrikes. Already before the war, the blockade of Gaza had caused a shortage of ventilation systems, patient-handling systems such as OR tables, beds, trolleys, and various types of medical equipment.[16] These shortages effected clinical work.[16]

In the first 13 days of the war, about 360 surgical operations were performed.[16] Among the people brought to the hospital, about 340 were pronounced dead on arrival. The number of injuries treated during this period was 1039,[16] but this is regarded as an underestimate, since it doesn't include many patients with minor injuries.[16]

During the conflict, several reports by Israeli Shin Bet officials alleged that Hamas used Al-Shifa hospital as a bunker and refuge, knowing it would be spared by air strikes. Ahmed Jabari was a leader of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades alleged to have hidden there.[5]

The New York Times reported that during the conflict "armed Hamas militants in civilian clothes roved the halls" killing alleged collaborators. [17]

In 2009, the Palestinian Health Ministry, run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, accused Hamas members of taking control of wards in Shifa Hospital, using them for interrogation and imprisonment, while withholding medical care. The ministry also called on Hamas to stop stealing and redirecting the medical resources to the organization's warehouses and centers (outside of the hospital). [18]

Israeli operations during 2014 Gaza War killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and injured over 11,000. During the war, a total of 8,592 patients visited Al-Shifa hospital, and most were civilians.[19] Of these, 490 (5.7%) were dead on arrival. After a detailed triage, 1808 patients were admitted, of whom 78 (4.3%) died in the hospital. 842 major life-saving surgeries were performed, including 90 laparotomies, 146 orthopaedic fixations, 106 craniotomies, 69 thoracotomies/airway interventions, 38 vascular procedures, 49 amputations, 68 debridements, and 176 other procedures.[19]

Compared to the 2012 war, ICU admission rates doubled and ICU mortality rates tripled.[19] The authors speculate that might be due to the "extreme character" of the attacks in 2014.[19]

During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, the hospital was described by The Washington Post as being a "de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices."[3]

Amnesty International documented how the Hamas forces misused a clinic in the hospital to abduct, torture, and kill members of their Palestinian opposition under an operation codenamed “Strangling Necks”.[4]

Reporting from the Gaza hospital to the Finnish Helsingin Sanomat, Aishi Zidan reported that a rocket was fired from the area of the hospital. This was seized upon by the Israeli press, prompting the journalist to take to Facebook to note that her words had been taken out of context and used as propaganda, and that the rocket had been fired from "somewhere behind the hospital".[20]

Wall Street Journal correspondent Nick Casey tweeted a photo of Hamas MP and media spokesperson Mushir Al Masri using the outside of Shifa hospital for media interviews, but then later deleted it.[21][22]

Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert rejected that the hospital was used a base by Hamas officials or militants.[23] He stated: "I have never seen any activities in the Shifa that would violate the Geneva conventions. But I didn’t explore every corner of the large hospital compound. If I saw anything inside the Shifa that in my opinion violated the Geneva conventions and, should I say, the ‘holiness’ of a hospital, I would have left."[23] Dr. Gilbert has been accused by the Israeli authorities of facilitating propaganda for Hamas.[24]

Wounded child at Al-Shifa Hospital

Wounded Palestinians wait for treatment at the overcrowded emergency ward of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 11, 2023

During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, al-Shifa Hospital was overwhelmed with wounded and dying people, and was running short on fuel, beds, and medical supplies.[25]

The bombardment of nearby regions has pushed the hospital beyond its capacity to treat wounded people and it is close to collapse.[26] The hospital is also housing thousands of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter from airstrikes during the war.[27]