Hospitals in northern Gaza are “out of service” and the number of patients dying due to a lack of electricity is increasing, the Hamas Health Ministry said on Monday, given the intensification of fighting between the Israeli army and militants of the Islamist movement. Palestinian.

According to the Health Ministry of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, more than 11,100 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by the Israeli offensive since the start of the conflict.

Hundreds of patients remain in Al Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, which also houses civilians who sought refuge following the Israeli offensive that began after Hamas launched an attack on its territory that Israeli authorities say killed nearly 1,200. the majority of which are citizens. .

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Monday that there are 2,300 people in Al Shifa, including patients, workers and displaced persons.

“There are dozens of dead and hundreds of injured that we cannot take care of. The ambulances are paralyzed because they are shot as they leave,” said hospital director Mohamad Abu Salmiya.

WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the situation in Al Shifa as “serious and dangerous” due to the lack of electricity and water, a result of the more than month-long siege Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip.

The headquarters of the terrorist organization Hamas is located beneath Gaza’s main hospital, Israeli intelligence charges

Several witnesses reported that heavy bombing took place during the night and reported that tanks and armored vehicles were located a few meters from the hospital entrance.

Yusef Abu Rish, deputy health minister of the Hamas government, told AFP that “seven premature babies” and “27 patients in intensive care” have died since Saturday due to a lack of electricity at Al Shifa hospital.

The last week, Israel bombed Gaza’s main hospital and accused Hamas of hiding military infrastructure within healthcare institutions.

Mohamad Shtayyeh, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, which rules the West Bank, asked the UN and the European Union on Monday to drop aid to northern Gaza, where the fighting is heaviest.

Netanyahu: Hostage deal concluded

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US network NBC on Sunday that there is a possibility of an agreement to release the nearly 240 hostages that Hamas took to Gaza during the offensive launched in Israel.

“The less I talk about the issue, the more I increase the chances of it becoming a reality,” Netanyahu summarized.

Israel has announced that it will set up a ‘corridor’ in Gaza this Monday for civilians to evacuate the Al Shifa hospital area.

81 aid trucks enter Gaza and 12 ambulances transport wounded people to Egypt

The Israeli military reported that its soldiers continue to launch “raids against terrorist infrastructure installed in government buildings, among the civilian population, including schools, universities and mosques.”

The European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, this Monday called for a “real” pause in the fighting in Gaza, which would allow the urgent delivery of fuel to keep hospitals operational.

“More than half of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip stopped working, mainly due to a lack of fuel,” Lenarcic said.

Patients “without care”

UN offices around the world lowered their flags to half-mast on Monday as a sign of mourning and observed a minute’s silence in honor of the organization’s nearly 100 employees killed during the conflict in Gaza.

The situation is also critical for other health centers on Palestinian territory, said Mohamed Zaqut, director of the hospital network in Gaza.

The patients “are on the streets without care” after the “forced evacuations” of the Al Nasr and Al Rantissi children’s hospitals, the official explained.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said another hospital, the Al Quds Center, halted operations on Sunday due to a lack of fuel.

“The Israeli army has ordered us to leave Al Quds Hospital,” Islam Shamalá told AFP on Sunday, who had to walk about ten kilometers with her daughter in her arms, her husband and her three other children who have difficulty moving.

Nearly 1.6 million of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have fled their homes since the war began. (JO)