Skip to main content
Partially functional
Al Ahli Arab Hospital
Facility Type
General Hospital
Ownership type
NGO
Governorates / District
Gaza
Address
Al-Saha area – Near Palestine Square
Founding Year
1882
Facility director
Suhaila Tarazi
Beds Capacity
43
Number of workers
76
List of medical specialties and services
Obstetrics and gynaecology
General medicine
Rehabilitation
Physiotherapy
Emergency medicine
Diabetes services
Ear, nose and throat
Pharmacy
Nutrition
Internal medicine
Orthopedics
General surgery
Oncology
Orthopedic surgery
Outpatient clinics
Equipment and facilities
Ultrasound scan
Radiology
Laboratory services
Pharmacy
Description (About the Facility)

Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital was opened in 1882 in al-Zaytun neighborhood south of Gaza City near the St. Philip the Evangelist Church, by English missionaries, led by Rev. Elliott. The hospital was destroyed during World War I in 1919 but rebuilt again that same year. The Baptist Mission took control of the management of the hospital after the British sought to close it at the end of the Mandate period[1].

In subsequent years, the hospital faced difficulties arising from a dispute between the Egyptian administration of Gaza and the Baptist Mission over the ownership of the hospital's land, after the Egyptian administration canceled the civil endowment law in Gaza. However, the hospital continued to provide its services even under the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip since 1967. In 1976, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) cut its aid to the hospital, in addition to stopping support for the nursing school that was affiliated with the hospital at the time, which led to a decline in its work and reduced its staff to 3 doctors and 28 nurses by 1977. At the end of the 1970s, the ownership of the hospital returned to the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, and it has continued to provide its services until the present[2].

At the beginning of the 2023 Israeli war of genocide, the hospital consisted of two buildings with eight and four floors. It had 116 medical staff and 80 beds. 

Development

In 1967: A second floor was added to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in 1967, which included an office for two physicians, plus three rooms dedicated to various therapeutic services, a laboratory which provided training services for students in order to certify them as laboratory technicians, and a physiotherapy unit, the first in the Gaza Strip[1]. 

In 2018: A second building was built for the hospital to provide ancillary diagnostic services.

funding source
United Palestinian Society of America
narrative during this war

Palestinians during the attacks on Gaza by the occupation. About 6,000 people from the areas of al-Zaytun, Shuja’iya, and East Gaza in general, were displaced to the hospital after the occupation forces issued evacuation orders to the residents of these areas. and the occupation forces also targeted the cancer diagnosis center and the outpatient clinic building several days before the massacre[3].The hospital administration made many efforts to dissuade the occupation from bombing the hospital after receiving a call from the occupation army to evacuate it and stop working there. The hospital administration received assurances from the US Embassy, the Archbishop and the Red Cross.
 

On October 14, 2023: Occupation forces targeted the building of the outpatient clinics and the Cancer Diagnostic Center with two missiles after they were threatened by the occupation forces to evacuate[4].
 

On October 15, 2023: The hospital administration received a second call from the occupation army to evacuate the hospital and stop working there. The hospital administration made many efforts to dissuade the occupation from bombing it and received assurances from the US embassy, the bishop and the Red Cross[4].
 

On October 17, 2023: Occupation forces targeted the hospital, killing 471 people[3]. It is the deadliest incident since the assault on Gaza started on 10/7/2023[5]. Testimonies from the hospital’s medical staff confirmed the use of a bomb that caused an unprecedented number of guillotine-like injuries, in addition to the dispersal of the remains and bodies of children and martyrs on top of the hospital buildings[4]. Medical teams transported most of the wounded to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City[5].
 

On October 18, 2023: Most of the injured at the hospital were evacuated to Al-Shifa Hospital. The number of injured people arriving at the al-Shifa Hospital forced doctors to perform operations on the floor, in corridors, and in most cases without anesthesia[5].
 

On November 15, 2023: The hospital, housing more than 500 patients, was reduced into a first aid station, according to Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta’s testimony after it had been the only operational hospital in northern Gaza at the time the occupation forces began their ground invasion of Gaza[6]. 
 

On November 16, 2023: The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that occupation forces, including tanks, began a siege of the hospital, preventing medical teams from exiting the hospital and reaching the injured[7][8]  .
 

On November 17, 2023: Occupation forces continued to besiege the hospital with tanks for the second day in a row[9].
 

On November 18, 2023: PRCS medical teams remain trapped in the hospital for the third consecutive day. Occupation forces continued to besiege and shell the hospital amidst heavy gunfire. The medical teams were unable to leave the hospital to rescue the injured[10].
 

On November 22, 2023: According to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the hospital was no longer functioning and was not receiving new patients[11].
 

On November 24, 2023: The hospital resumed operations. PRCS medical rescue teams and a UN team evacuated at least 21 sick and injured patients from the hospital to Khan Yunis[12]. 
 

On November 29, 2023: The hospital received medical supplies and fuel from UN agencies[13]. 
 

On December 4, 2023: Occupation forces shelled the vicinity of the hospital, resulting in the death of martyrs[14]. 
 

On December 14, 2023: Occupation forces shelled the perimeter of the hospital, causing damage to its facilities[15]. 
 

On December 19, 2023: The Ministry of Health stated that occupation forces stormed the hospital, destroying the hospital's main gate and arresting a number of medical staff and patients in the hospital[16].
 

On December 25, 2023: PRCS rescue teams transferred 21 patients from Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital to Khan Yunis[17]. 
 

On February 7, 2024: Occupation forces targeted a PRCS ambulance crew between Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital and Al-Shifa Hospital, resulting in injuries and the martyrdom of one of the paramedics[18]. 
 

On February 25, 2024: The Ministry of Health warned that hospitals in northern Gaza were facing fuel shortages, including Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. UNOCHA reported that the hospital was performing 13 surgeries per day and operating at only 30% capacity due to the lack of fuel. The Ministry of Health added that the hospital's dialysis and intensive care patients were at risk of death due to the lack of medical supplies and fuel[19]. 
 

On March 8, 2024: The International Committee of the Red Cross and UNOCHA conducted an assessment of the hospital. The UNOCHA report stated that the facilities at the hospital were severely damaged as the hospital continued to receive displaced people. The report also states that the hospital only had two surgeons on staff at this time, and that the hospital relied on volunteers. According to the report, the hospital's capacity at the time was 50 patients, but when the occupation forces targeted people waiting for aid and killed more than 100 Palestinians, the hospital had to receive about 200 patients. Despite the dire conditions and lack of food, the medical staff manages to perform general surgeries and limited services[20].
 

On March 9, 2024: The World Health Organization provided medical supplies for 150 patients and 13,000 liters of fuel to the hospital[20]. 
 

On April 12, 2024: Occupation forces prevented two relief missions from reaching the hospital, one of which would have delivered about 24,000 liters of fuel to run the hospital's backup generators[21].
 

On April 13, 2024: WHO crews were able to transfer three patients and two companions from the hospital to field hospitals in Rafah. They were also able to deliver 18,900 liters of fuel to the hospital[22]. A UNOCHA report noted that the hospital was short on bed capacity, medicines and basic medical supplies[23].
 

On May 27, 2024: The first WHO mission to northern Gaza since April 13, 2024 arrived at the hospital and was able to deliver 15,000 liters of fuel, 14 beds, and medical equipment to meet the needs of 1,500 patients. The mission was also accompanied 5 PRCS ambulances to the northern Gaza Strip[24].
 

On June 23, 2024: The WHO provided fuel and medical equipment to the hospital. Crews were able to transfer five children from the hospital to the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis[25][26].
 

On July 8, 2024: Medical staff evacuated the hospital after the occupation forces issued a threat to evacuate the nearby areas, and the vicinity of the hospital came under heavy fire from Israeli drones[27]. Some patients were transferred to the Indonesian Hospital and Kamal Adwan Hospital in the North Gaza Governorate[28].
 

On July 11, 2024: The Gaza Media Office announced that the hospital had partially resumed its operations[27][29].
 

The main targeting and assaults During the genocide

Related testimonies

Related testimonies

فضل نعيم - عميد كلية الطب في الجامعة الإسلامية-غزة
شهادة الطبيب فضل نعيم أمام البرلمان البرازيلي حول استهداف القطاع الصحي
- وسائل التواصل الإجتماعي
سعيد عبد الرحمن معروف - طبيب أطفال في المستشفى الأهلي المعمداني
شهادة الطبيب سعيد معروف عن عودته للعمل عقب اعتقاله
- شبكة الجزيرة الإعلامية
سعيد عبد الرحمن معروف - طبيب أطفال في المستشفى الأهلي المعمداني
شهادة الطبيب سعيد معروف عقب الإفراج عنه من سجون الإحتلال
- وسائل التواصل الإجتماعي
يوسف أبو الريش - وكيل وزارة الصحة الفلسطينية-غزة
وكيل وزارة الصحة يروي تفاصيل تهديدات الإحتلال بقصف المشافي
- شبكة الجزيرة الإعلامية
- مسعف فلسطيني
مسعف يروي تفاصيل حول مجزرة المعمداني
- قناة الغد
غسان أبو ستة - أستاذ بريطاني - فلسطيني مشارك في علم الجراحة، وجراّح تجميل وترميم.
الطبيب غسان أبو ستة يروي تفاصيل مجزرة المعمداني
- شبكة الجزيرة الإعلامية
Sources
  1. BBC, Press report.
  2. Al Jazeera Media Network, Press report.
  3. Palestinian Information Center, News release.
  4. Al Jazeera Media Network, News release.
  5. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  6. TRT Arabic, News release.
  7. Sky News Arabia, Press report.
  8. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  9. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  10. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  11. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  12. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  13. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  14. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  15. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  16. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  17. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  18. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  19. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  20. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  21. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  22. World Health Organization in the occupied Palestinian territory, X platform, formerly Twitter.
  23. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  24. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, X Platform, formerly Twitter.
  25. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, X Platform, formerly Twitter.
  26. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  27. Anadolu Agency, News release. 
  28. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.
  29. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Report.