Israeli forces conducted searches of the surgical and emergency building and the basement of the Shifa Medical Complex, according to the Director General of Gaza Hospitals, Muhammad Zaqout, while Reuters published a video from inside, showing dust and destruction in rooms in the building as a result of the Israeli bombing.
Medical workers were coughing because of the gases that accompanied the explosions.
Gaza’s hospitals are being subjected to attacks, to the point that the term “hospital war” has become widespread in the northern Gaza Strip, as a result of their and their surroundings being repeatedly exposed to bombardment, which portends an exacerbation of the catastrophic and epidemiological situation in light of the siege and the depletion of fuel.
“Al-Shifa” storms to the top of “X”
The hashtag “#Save_Al-Shifa_Hospital” topped the list of the most popular on the “X” platform, previously “Twitter”, after it was stormed, and tweeters denounced “the practices against the hospital, which houses thousands of patients, displaced people, and medical personnel.”
Tweeters also shared pictures showing many premature babies in Al-Shifa Hospital, who are facing death at any moment as a result of the medical complex being out of service due to the Israeli bombing and the running out of fuel. They denounced “the global silence regarding Israel’s crimes in the Gaza Strip, and the targeting of hospitals, which caused… About 25 of them are completely out of service.”
Why did Israel turn the Shifa complex into a military target?
According to what Sabri Saidam, Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee, told Sky News Arabia, Israel has placed control over Al-Shifa Hospital as “a symbol of the fall of Gaza.”
According to some reports and platforms, the reasons for targeting “the failure of the Israeli army to achieve any military victory so far or to liberate any prisoner from the grip of the Hamas movement, in addition to its submission to pressure from Israeli public opinion, prompted it to turn the hospital into a military target and surround it with tanks. Among those reasons are:
- Searching for a form of victory, it appears that he destroyed the Hamas command center inside an alleged tunnel under the Shifa complex. He also promoted the local and Western opinion that the medical complex contained stores of Hamas weapons, turning it into the focus of his military operations.
- Since 2007, Al-Shifa Medical Complex has turned into a fortress of struggle against Israel, in that it hosted delegations to break the siege and hosted health conferences, in addition to building strong partnerships with international and health organizations, and in the current war it turned into a center for press conferences.
- Israel seeks to break the symbolism of this medical landmark by inflicting the greatest amount of harm and hardship on the Palestinians displaced to seek refuge in its vicinity, to deprive them of the care that this medical facility provides to them.
How can the “healing” process pose a challenge to Israel?
According to an analysis published by the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research on Wednesday, the raid on Shifa Medical Center represents a challenge to the Israeli position in the war in Gaza, and this can be understood in light of:
- Entering the hospital constitutes an opportunity for the Israeli army to reinforce its narrative regarding Hamas’ use of medical facilities in the Gaza Strip as infrastructure for military purposes, and to respond to international criticism of targeting hospitals.
- The raid opens a new window to increase international criticism of Israel and increase pressure on it, in the event that it is unable to provide evidence to support its story.
- It represents a test of the credibility of the intelligence information possessed by Israel, especially after the Israeli army published a video of what it claims is the “Hamas operations room” under the hospital.
- Israel faces the challenge of providing reliable information that supports its position regionally and internationally.
Collective punishment policy
For its part, the Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “Shams” says that the storming and besieging of Al-Shifa Hospital and the rest of the medical facilities in Gaza is a “hostile act” that targets groups protected in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, namely the sick, the wounded, medical staff, and civilians with chronic diseases, including the elderly, children, and women. Adding in a statement:
- This policy culminates in the policy of collective punishment that Israel has pursued through its ongoing aggression against Gaza since last October 7.
- The sick and wounded are subjected to a policy of “mass execution.”
- Raising the Israeli flag over Al-Shifa, which treats premature babies, the elderly, the wounded, and women, is not considered a military victory, but rather a brutality against innocent civilians.
Breaking the symbolism of resilience
Russian military expert, Sergei Leonkov, told Sky News Arabia, “Israel wants to break the symbolism of the transformation of the Shifa Medical Complex into a symbol of Hamas’ steadfastness.”
He added, “The hospital is currently taking on the role of the Gaza government, whether in addressing public opinion or hosting press conferences that expose Israel’s crimes, and therefore its voice must be silenced by turning it into an Israeli military barracks.”
The Russian expert adds:
- We see clear contradictions in the Israeli story. From the beginning, the hospital included the headquarters of Hamas leaders, and after the storming, the story changed to include tunnels.
- For days, Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings, as well as other hospitals in the Gaza Strip, have been continuously targeted by Israeli bombing, claiming the presence of Hamas fighters inside it, which has been proven to be false.
- The international community supporting Israel did not work to refute these allegations, which prompted the Israeli army to intensify its aggression and launch a “hospital war” in Gaza.
- Israel is looking for an imaginary victory, so it turned healing into a military goal, and is now preparing a new artificial narrative to counter any international criticism.
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