Ben Schamisso
EU nations say Hamas is using hospitals, civilians as 'human shields'
The nations condemned Hamas for its actions and also asked Israel to make efforts to avoid human casualties.
LEARN MOREPosted: 3:30 p.m. EST Nov 13, 2023
The situation at Al-Shifa Hospital appears to be beyond catastrophic. A photo released by a hospital doctor shows premature babies taken out of incubators and kept closely together to stay warm.
According to medical staff, at least three premature babies and other patients have recently died because of lack of electricity.
"We want to make it clear to the world, hospitals should be safe havens, but they're being transformed in Gaza into scenes of death, devastation and despair," said Dr. Margaret Harris, the spokesperson for the World Health Organization.
On Sunday, the Israeli military released video it says shows its soldiers delivering fuel near the entrance of the hospital – but Israel says Hamas has blocked medical staff from receiving it. Scripps News is unable to verify the authenticity of that claim.
Israel has long accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields, recently presenting what it says is evidence showing a Hamas command center under Al-Shifa Hospital.
Last week, a pediatrician at a smaller hospital in northern Gaza, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, told Scripps News children hooked up to ventilators there were on the verge of dying because of a shortage of fuel.
Scripps News and Abu Safiya's colleagues have been unable to contact him since Friday.
"Since then no messages from him or from people around him in Kamal Adwan Hospital, so we're really worried," said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, the president of MedGlobal.
Fighting between Hamas and Israeli troops has intensified around multiple hospitals in northern Gaza.
Israel says it wants the hospitals evacuated to move people to southern Gaza out of danger, but aid groups dismiss the idea as currently too dangerous.
