Smoke rises during the continuing Israeli raid on Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began on Monday. Reuters
Smoke rises during the continuing Israeli raid on Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began on Monday. Reuters
Smoke rises during the continuing Israeli raid on Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began on Monday. Reuters
Smoke rises during the continuing Israeli raid on Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began on Monday. Reuters

Israeli forces kill more than 170 people at Al Shifa Hospital during ongoing assault


Nada AlTaher
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza

Israeli forces say they have killed more than 170 people during their raid on the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, which began on Monday.

The army also said it has “questioned” more than 800 people.

Medics said parts of the hospital complex, which was one of the only healthcare facilities even partially operating in the north of the enclave, have been set on fire and that Israeli forces are threatening to bomb buildings with people inside if they do not leave.

“Thus far, the forces eliminated more than 170 terrorists in the area of the hospital, questioned over 800 suspects, and located numerous weapons and terror infrastructure,” the Israeli military said on Saturday.

Israeli troops have been combing through the sprawling hospital complex, which the military says is linked to a tunnel network used as a base for Hamas. The militant group and medical staff have vehemently denied the allegations.

Vascular surgeon Dr Taisir Al Tanna, who left the complex on Thursday, told The National on Friday: “The hospital's state is terrible. Very few patients. The displaced are mostly gone. The yard is completely destroyed.

“The new building has been set on fire. Even if the army leaves the hospital, [it] won't return to its normal state for at least a month.”

Dr Al Tanna said bodies cannot be recovered because of the danger of being shot.

Fifth-year medical student Ezz Eddin Lulu shared a message online “from my colleagues” saying Israeli forces were threatening to bomb those inside Al Shifa, which has been housing thousands of displaced civilians, if they do not leave.

Mr Lulu has been posting on social media sporadically. He said some people at the hospital had not eaten for four days.

Israel says it is bringing food, water and supplies to those who remain inside.

Palestinian mother Nozha Awad and her triplets fled the hospital, where they had been taking refuge, on Thursday.

During the raid, she told Reuters, she had lived in “famine-like conditions” as her children went without food, water or milk.

Palestinian mother Nozha Awad flees Al Shifa hospital, following an Israeli raid, with her triplets. Reuters
Palestinian mother Nozha Awad flees Al Shifa hospital, following an Israeli raid, with her triplets. Reuters

Dr Al Tanna, who is now operating at Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza city, has received some of the Israeli food and water but said it was a “hit and miss” and barely enough.

It is unclear where the two doctors were during the raid – and why some received food, while others did not.

Several Palestinian local outlets reported that a medic, Dr Mohammad Zaher Al Nunu, was killed for “refusing to leave the complex, patients and injured behind”.

The National could not independently verify the reports, as communications are down inside the hospital.

About 32,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war in Gaza which followed the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel.

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Conflict, drought, famine

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It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

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Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell        

Four stars

Results:

5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)

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Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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HIV on the rise in the region

A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.

New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.

Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.

Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.  

Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.

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Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law,  Ben Mendelsohn

4/5 stars

While you're here
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
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  • The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
  • Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
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Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona

Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate

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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

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Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

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How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Updated: March 23, 2024, 12:47 PM