New Delhi: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said that Gaza's largest hospital has been decimated by Israel's recent siege, leaving an “empty shell” with many bodies.
Following a two-week military operation, Israeli forces withdrew from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Monday. The operation, aimed at targeting Palestinian operatives within the medical complex, left the once-vital institution in ruins.
Despite repeated attempts since March 25, it was only on Friday that a WHO-led mission managed to gain access to the hospital. The UN health agency lamented the appalling extent of destruction witnessed during their visit.
Taking to X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote, “WHO and partners managed to reach Al-Shifa -- once the backbone of the health system in Gaza, which is now an empty shell with human graves after the latest siege.”
He said the WHO team saw "at least five dead bodies during the mission".
He further said that “most of the buildings in the hospital complex are extensively destroyed and the majority of assets damaged or reduced to ashes.”
“Even restoring minimal functionality in the short term seems implausible. An in-depth assessment by a team of engineers is needed to determine if the remaining buildings are safe for future use,” Ghebreyesus added in his X post.
The WHO chief further lamented the fact that the organisation’s recent “effort to support the revival of basic services at Al-Shifa are now lost, and people are once again deprived of access to lifesaving health care services.”
Ever since the outbreak of the Israel Gaza war after a surprise attack unleashed by Hamas on October 7 last year, of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, only 10 are currently operational partially, WHO said.