‘Impossible’: Panic as Israel orders Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital to evacuate

Thousands of displaced people and patients, many in critical condition, do not have ambulances or a means to move.

Israeli forces gave doctors, patients and displaced people at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza one hour to evacuate the medical compound on Saturday, causing “a great state of panic and fear”, Al Jazeera’s Youmna ElSayed reported.

A medical source in al-Shifa told Al Jazeera it was “impossible” to evacuate as the facility, which has been bombarded and besieged by Israeli troops for days, houses about 7,000 people, including patients who are in critical condition.

“They do not have any ambulances to transfer the patients and premature babies to the south [of Gaza],” said ElSayed, reporting from Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

“This is what he [the source] called ‘a crisis’, to ask them to evacuate in one hour.”

Those in al-Shifa include at least 300 patients, some or most of them in serious or critical condition, as well as thousands of displaced families.

It also includes “at least 35 premature babies who already for eight days now have been out of their incubators because of the lack of oxygen and the lack of electricity”, ElSayed said. There were 39 babies who had been left without incubators; four died late on Friday and five are severely ill now, our correspondent added.

“There is no transportation means in Gaza City and the northern parts because of a lack of fuel. So people are expected to evacuate on foot. And doctors are telling us it’s impossible to evacuate with this many people on foot.”

After the Israeli deadline passed, ElSayed said doctors have told the Israeli army that they will not evacuate and abandon their patients.

Omar Zaqout, the hospital’s supervisor, told Al Jazeera that forced evacuations have now begun and added that the scenes outside the facility were “appalling”.

“We were told to leave through al-Wehda road. Dozens of dead bodies are scattered on the road,” he told Al Jazeera. “Many homeless people who cannot walk are left out in the open.”

Mounir al-Barsh, a doctor at the al-Shifa hospital, said that the Israeli army called at around 9am [7:00 GMT], warning that all those leaving had to wave a white handkerchief and walk in a single line.

“They were humiliated by soldiers all along the road,” al-Bahsar told Al Jazeera.

“Many of the patients were put on wheelchairs or rolling beds. Family members were forced to carry their wounded children or parents themselves…These are horrible, unprecedented scenes,” he said.

“There are about 120 patients who were left behind as they cannot move,” al-Bashar noted, adding that to assist them, the hospital’s director, four other doctors and a small group of nurses remained in the hospital.

He added that they were also promised that a UN delegation would have been dispatched at around 11am [9:00 GMT] to take care of those remaining behind.

The Israeli army has instructed people to evacuate through al-Rashid street, not the usual street or route that people evacuating to the south are supposed to take — the Salah al-Din street.

ElSayed added that the army has not provided people evacuating with any means of transportation, with any fuel for ambulances or for any cars to transfer patients, premature babies and displaced families.

Israel claimed Hamas has a command centre underneath the hospital, but found no evidence to support its claim. Hamas and hospital staff have always rejected the Israeli assertions.

The hospital has also been without food, water, electricity and oxygen for at least a week, while Israeli troops and tanks raided the facility over the last couple of days.

Zaqout, added the lack of water supply at al-Shifa has led to what he called an “absence of hygiene and cleanliness”.

“The electrical power has been out more than three weeks. Infants and newborn babies are left without oxygen. It is nothing but a medieval cave,” he said.