I'm stepping over people, says doctor at crammed Gaza hospital amid Israeli bombing raids

Al Quds Hospital, overwhelmed with more than 12,000 people, has been told to evacuate as Israeli aircraft bomb nearby buildings

The aftermath of another Israeli air strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. AFP

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“I am stepping over people everywhere I go,” Ayman Awadullah, an orthopaedic surgeon at Al Quds Hospital in Gaza, says as Israeli warplanes bombed the besieged enclave.

The hospital has 400 patients and is harbouring 12,000 displaced people seeking refuge from Israel's bombardment, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

It said "intense and repeated airstrikes" were ongoing close to the hospital and that it had "received a threat to bombard the hospital" and Israeli demands for "immediate evacuation".

The compound of Al Quds Hospital, in Gaza City’s Tel Al Hawa area, was targeted by Israeli air strikes on Sunday as doctors and nurses treated patients. It has borne the brunt of Israeli air raids since Hamas conducted its biggest attack on Israel more than two weeks ago.

The situation inside the hospital is "disastrous", as thousands are seeking refuge and receiving treatment for injuries, Dr Awadullah told The National.

"People are sleeping on the floors, everywhere I go I am stepping over people and their belongings," he said.

The hospital has a distinct smell as people have not been able to bathe or clean themselves due to water scarcity, said the doctor.

"The water inside the hospital is so salty and is not suitable for any type of consumption," he added.

Insects can be found all over the hospital and there is "nowhere to walk or sit", the doctor said.

We don't have plans to flee as there are patients who are severely wounded and cannot move and as doctors we can't leave patients behind

Ayman Awadullah,
orthopaedic surgeon at Al Quds Hospital

Several days ago, hospital staff said they had received a warning from Israel to evacuate before a bombardment. It remains unknown when Israeli warplanes will target the building.

"We don't have plans to flee as there are patients who are severely wounded and cannot move and as doctors we can't leave patients behind," he said.

There are no cars or buses to transfer people from the hospital and those who are inside "don't have any other place to go as most of their homes are destroyed".

A witness sheltering in the hospital, whose husband works there as a doctor, said the situation "is so difficult", not least because of the increasing number of people crammed into the building.

"Now there is no safe place in Gaza," she said. "This is a big hospital, why they want to destroy it? There are around 12,000 people who are fleeing here besides the medical crew.

"Where are they supposed to go?" the witness, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

Her husband refuses to leave his patients behind.

"Doctors have decided to continue their work," she said, despite Israel's bomb warning.

Hospitals are working tirelessly and under terrifying conditions, running out of supplies to care for the injured, Jessica Moussan, Middle East media adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told The National.

"We recognise the horrific attacks that Israel has suffered and we stress nothing justifies the limitless destruction of Gaza," Ms Moussan said.

"The sheer magnitude of the crisis means that the relief so far is but a drop in the ocean. With the ongoing siege, the relief trucks that have managed to gain access represent only a fraction of the actual needs."

The Israeli army has said numerous times that civilians in the northern Gaza Strip must move to the south of Wadi Gaza, for their own safety.

However, Israeli air strikes continue to target people even in the south.

Initial figures show at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since October 7, including 2,055 children and 1,119 women.