Israel’s aggression is becoming more dangerous day by day. The whole of Gaza is suffering from deplorable conditions. There is only rubble all around. The bodies are scattered. No burial ground. The corpses became dog food.
Gaza Health Ministry official Munir al-Bursh told Al Jazeera on Monday morning that street dogs were eating the corpses of civilians in the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital. Because it was not possible to bury the dead in the bombing.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that due to lack of space or facilities to bury the dead, they rot.
The hospital, hit by power outages and fuel shortages, has become ‘almost a graveyard’, the WHO said. Children are also under threat.
Ahmed Mukhallati, head of the hospital’s plastic surgery department, said several children had already died due to lack of facilities. Running out of fuel increases the risk of children dying.
“This situation means we are waiting for them to die one by one,” he added in an interview with Middle East Eye.
Mukhallati also feared that the infection would soon spread from the corpse. He said the corpses would be a great source of all kinds of bacteria and other diseases. A surgeon representing Doctors Without Borders (MSF) at the hospital reiterated the same concern. He said, ‘The situation is very bad. The hospital has 600 patients and 37 children. But there is no electricity, water and food. Without ventilators, people will die in a few hours.’
Israeli forces intensified their shelling around the hospital. Even ambulances trying to bring patients to the hospital are constantly being attacked. In front of the hospital, there are many dead bodies as well as injured people. But it is not possible to bring inside the hospital. Ground troops have continued the siege since encircling it on Friday. Israeli tanks and armored vehicles were reportedly positioned within a few meters of the hospital gate.
For the past three days until Tuesday, no one could enter or leave the hospital for fear of being attacked by Israeli snipers. Meanwhile, there are allegations that Hamas has an underground tunnel under the hospital.
The Israeli military said Hamas was operating a command and control center from underground. But Hamas and hospital authorities denied it.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmayer said, ‘There are dead bodies around the hospital. They cannot be monitored. Cannot be buried. Not even a morgue can be taken.’
Mukhallati called for an end to the killings and a safe and guaranteed corridor to allow patients to be evacuated.
