Bombardments and armed clashes around the Shifa hospital in Gaza city intensified since the afternoon of 11 November. Critical infrastructure, including the oxygen station, water tanks and a well, the cardiovascular facility, and the maternity ward, was damaged,and three nurses killed. While many internally displaced persons (IDPs) and some staff and patients have managed to flee, others are trapped inside, fearing to leave or physically unable to do so. Some 3,000 patients and staff, alongside 15,000 IDPs are believed to remain in the hospital.
At Shifa, two premature babies and ten other patients have died since the power outage that started on 11 November, compounded by the lack of medical consumables. Another 36 babies in incubators as well as kidney dialysis patients are at hightened risk of death. On 12 November, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that it had lost communication with its contacts in Shifa.
On 12 November, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that the Al Quds Hospital in Gaza city was no longer operational due to the depletion of available fuel and power outage.
Access to bread in the south is also challenging. The only operative mill in Gaza remains unable to grind wheat due to a lack of electricity and fuel. Eleven bakeries have been hit and destroyed since 7 October. Only one of the bakeries contracted by WFP, along with eight other bakeries in the south, intermittently provides bread to shelters, depending on the availability of flour and fuel. People queue lasting over 5 hours in front of bakeries, where they are exposed to airstrikes.
Read the full report: Hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel Flash Update #37
A hospital patient being transported southwards through a “corridor” opened by the Israeli military following its calls to evacuate northern Gaza. Photo by OCHA, 12 November 2023
