The World Health Organization said Sunday it had led an assessment mission to Shifa hospital in Gaza City and determined it was a “death zone,” urging a full evacuation.
The World Health Organization said Sunday it had led an assessment mission to Shifa hospital in Gaza City and determined it was a “death zone,” urging a full evacuation.
*Nov 19 (Reuters) - A humanitarian assessment team visited Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza and saw signs of shelling and gunfire in what was described as a “death zone,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday.
The WHO-led team, which included public health experts, logistics officers and security staff from various U.N. departments, was able to spend only an hour inside the hospital on Saturday due to security concerns, WHO said in a statement.
The team described the hospital as a “death zone” and said the situation was “desperate,” with the hospital basically not functioning as a medical facility due to scarcity of clean water, fuel, medicine and other essentials.
“Signs of shelling and gunfire were evident. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance of the hospital and were told more than 80 people were buried there,” the WHO statement said.
The hallways and hospital grounds were filled with medical and solid waste, and patients and health staff expressed fear for their health and safety, it said. There were 25 health workers and 291 patients, including 32 babies in critical condition, remaining in Al Shifa, WHO said.*
“WHO and partners are urgently developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families,” it said.