[News Spot] Al-Shifa, the Largest Hospital in Gaza Strip Turned into a Battlefield

Gaza Resident Healing Center? Or Hamas Headquarters?

Al-Shifa Hospital, which Israel claims is being used as Hamas headquarters, is the largest medical facility in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. It is located near the Al-Rimal area in Gaza City, the central city of the Gaza Strip. The hospital consists of departments of surgery, internal medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology, with about 700 beds.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The hospital's name, ‘Al-Shifa,’ means ‘healing’ in Arabic. It is said to have originated from Taha Al-Shifa, the wife of Egypt’s former president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Opened in 1946 on the site of a British military barracks as the ‘House of Healing,’ the hospital has witnessed the painful history of Palestine, including Egypt’s rule over Gaza and the Israeli occupation. In 1971, the hospital drew international attention when Palestinian armed forces and the Israeli military engaged in a shootout at the nurses’ dormitory of Al-Shifa Hospital. During the First Intifada (uprising against Israel) in 1987, hundreds of Palestinian residents gathered in the square in front of Al-Shifa Hospital, throwing stones at Israeli soldiers and shouting, “Either kill us all or leave this land,” a scene reported by the American daily The New York Times (NYT).

After Hamas won the 2006 general election and took over the operation of Al-Shifa Hospital from the following year, the hospital became embroiled in conflict. Israel claims that a basement was created during remodeling in the 1980s and that Hamas has a secret base there. Hamas completely denies this and states that it is groundless.

The international community has called for a halt to Israeli military attacks on the hospital. Even if there is a secret Hamas organization inside the hospital as claimed by the Israeli military, it is pointed out that if the scale of civilian casualties from attacks on Al-Shifa Hospital is excessively large, it could constitute a violation of the laws of war. As of the 12th (local time), the number of injured patients being treated at Al-Shifa Hospital, which has suspended operations, exceeds 5,000, more than seven times the number of available beds. It is estimated that more than 50,000 displaced people are staying in the hospital to avoid bombings.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.