Nurses recall horror of Israeli raid, interrogations, saying troops beat and humiliated them as they refused to go away sufferers behind.
The Indonesian Hospital, considered one of northern Gaza’s largest healthcare amenities, was so severely broken in Israeli assaults that it could by no means open once more.
On Saturday, Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Ministry of Well being in Gaza, informed Al Jazeera, “We are in shock and horrified at the scenes left by Israeli forces at the Indonesian Hospital.”
Israeli tanks and snipers had laid siege to the hospital in Beit Lahia for days, earlier than concentrating on its important generator and raiding it within the early hours of Friday, shortly earlier than a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas got here into impact.
The ministry mentioned on Friday that the hospital was present process “heavy bombardment” by the Israeli military and that there was worry for the lives of 200 injured individuals and medical employees. It added that intense Israeli hearth killed a wounded girl and injured at the very least three others.
Now in ruins, the hospital is overwhelmed with giant numbers of wounded individuals amid extreme shortages in medical provides. “Corridors have become wards and surgeons operate on the floor,” mentioned Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, who gained entry to the ability.
“Outside the hospital building, the stench of death forces people to cover their nose, as charred and decomposing bodies, children among them, pile up in corners. No burials have taken place for days because Israeli snipers targeted anyone who ventured out to dig a grave,” he mentioned.
Reporting from the hospital after the raid, Anas al-Sharif, one of many few remaining journalists in northern Gaza, mentioned, “The occupation forces have damaged and destroyed large parts of the hospital. There’s been major destruction here. Even equipment and supplies have been ruined by occupation forces.”
Recalling the horror of the Israeli raid and interrogation of hospital employees, a nurse informed Al Jazeera, “When they stormed the hospital we told them we are nurses, civilians, and that we have children and sick people here.”
“They interrogated me and three other nurses. They asked me about the resistance and if there were any fighters here. They asked about the entrances and exits of the hospital. We were all panicking. We were very scared,” she added.
One other nurse recalled how Israeli forces focused the ability’s fourth flooring with a missile and reduce off electrical energy and solar energy to the buildings.
“We had 25 people with broken pelvises who couldn’t be moved. They blew up this entrance, they shot the patients inside. They searched us one by one and scanned everyone’s faces. I told them I’m a nurse,” the male nurse from the emergency division informed Al Jazeera.
“They took me to this nook and beat me, and requested me many questions on the hospital, the Israeli captives and hostages – whether or not I do know something about them. Each query was accompanied by a slap.
“After they left, we could’ve gone but I promised I would never leave my patients alone and that I would be the last one to leave this hospital,” mentioned the nurse.
Tons of of displaced individuals had beforehand sought asylum on the hospital, which can be near the Jabalia refugee camp.
With the ability out of service for weeks and the harm extreme, it stays unclear whether or not it should ever reopen.
