As Israel begins its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Al-Shifa Hospital starts to operate according to pre-prepared contingency plans. Due to the threat of fuel shortages, in light of the limited availability of backup generators, additional measures are taken, including keeping operating rooms open, suspending some elective surgeries, working in the dark and limiting the use of elevators. Approximately 60,000 people are displaced to the Shifa compound, placing an additional burden on the hospital, which is already operating at more than 100 percent capacity.
On October 9, 2023: Occupation forces bombed the vicinity of the hospital, damaging the nursery department[8].
On October 18, 2023: The hospital received all the sick and injured patients from Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital after it was bombed, increasing the pressure on the hospital's facilities and forcing medical staff to perform operations and medical interventions in the hospital's corridors and floors[9].
On October 22, 2023: The hospital’s administration announced the possibility of a real disaster in the dialysis departments due to the lack of fuel, as more than 1,100 kidney failure patients, including 38 children, could face serious complications[10].
On October 25, 2023: The hospital was completely cut off from electricity after running out of fuel[11].
On October 28, 2023: Occupation forces bombed the perimeter of Al-Shifa compound[12].
On November 1, 2023: The hospital administration evacuated the maternity beds to Tharwat al-Hilu Hospital due to the massive overcrowding from wounded people, but Tharwat al-Hilu Hospital is also bombed at the time[13].
On November 3, 2023: Occupation forces bombed ambulance convoys in front of the gate of Al-Shifa Medical Complex three times, killing and injuring dozens of people, including the wounded being carried in the ambulances[14].
On the same day, the hospital's administration announced that the hospital was operating secondary generators, so that only three critical services remain operational while electricity was cut off from the rest of the hospital departments. The situation required the hospital to only deliver electricity for four hours to oxygen and sterilization stations, water pumps, and some support services[15].
On November 10, 2023: The Palestinian Ministry of Health launched an appeal to the UN and international bodies to come to Al-Shifa Hospital in order to protect it from Israeli targeting, following the start of a media campaign where Israeli claim that the hospital is being used for military purposes[16].
On November 11, 2023: The hospital was rendered out of service after the generator stops working. At least two premature babies die due to the lack of electricity. Occupation forces fired artillery shells damage the hospital's intensive care department and the top floor of Al-Quds building inside the hospital compound. Occupation tanks stationed 200 meters from the northern and southern sides of the compound prevented the arrival of ambulances[17].
On November 12, 2023: Occupation forces continued the siege of the hospital, preventing movement in and out of the hospital. The heavy bombardment and continuous movement of drones prevented evacuation of those inside, including displaced and wounded people, patients, medical staff, and paramedics, who remained within the hospital buildings without access to fuel, electricity, food, or water. Occupation forces also fired artillery shells at all the hospital buildings, destroying the old heart department building on the western side of the hospital. Occupation forces targeted all the buildings within the hospital complex. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announces that Al-Shifa compound was out of services as a result of occupation forces’ siege and artillery shelling[18].
On November 14, 2023: The hospital’s management dug a mass grave to bury the martyrs in the hospital yard. Premature babies were moved from the hospital’s nursery department to another place with electricity. The laboratories and blood bank were shut down due to a power outage. Occupation forces shelled the intensive care unit[19].
On November 15, 2023: Occupation forces stormed the hospital after a six-day siege, entering the compound from the western side using heavy gunfire, shelling the coronary care clinic, and deploying snipers in the vicinity of the compound. The occupation forces first raided the new surgery building and emergency building where patients and medical staff were located before moving the rest of the hospital’s departments, blowing up internal doors. All patients and medical staff were forcefully gathered in the eastern courtyard for interrogations. The hospital’s only generator mechanic technician and only oxygen station technician were arrested. Occupation forces also damaged the specialize surgical department and vandalize radiology equipment, medical devices, the CT scanner, and MRI machine[20].
On November 16, 2023: Occupation forces continued to completely besiege Al-Shifa Hospital and detained about 5,000 medical staff, patients and displaced persons. Occupation forces also demolished with bulldozers the northern and southern walls of the hospital, the hospital's kitchen, and vehicles. In addition, Israeli bulldozers razed all roads within a kilometer of the hospital, including Al-Wahda Street where houses, shops, pharmacies and a gas station were destroyed. Soldiers steal bodies in the morgue and exhume bodies from mass graves[20].
On November 17, 2023: As the siege and destruction of the hospital continued[21], occupation soldiers used medical staff as human shields when storming buildings on the compound. Occupation forces killed several people while moving through buildings[22]. According to hospital administrators, 40 patients, including four premature babies, have died due to the power outage since November 11.
On November 18, 2023: Occupation forces forcibly evacuated about 2,500 people from the hospital under the supervision of the WHO and a team from the UN. The occupation forces had ordered the Director General of Al-Shifa, Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, to evacuate the buildings, but the medical staff refused at the time[23].
On November 19, 2023: Occupation forces targeted a convoy of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) - France while evacuating from hospital to the south of the Gaza Strip[24].
On November 23, 2023: Occupation forces arrested Director Dr. Abu Salmiya and a number of medical staff during their forced evacuation to the southern areas of Gaza[25].
On November 24, 2023: Occupation forces withdrew from Al-Shifa Hospital after nearly completely evacuating it for patients, staff, and displaced people, blowing up its facilities and rendering it inoperable, while at least 19 health workers and 259 injured and seriously ill patients remained at the compound[26].
On November 28, 2023: The hospital partially resumed operations by operating only the kidney department and serving 50 patients for one hour per patient[27].
On December 17, 2023: The WHO and the UN delivered a batch of medicines, medical supplies, orthopedic equipment, and anesthetics to the hospital to resume minimal operations, as the hospital had a small number of doctors and nurses, as well as 70 volunteers[28].
On January 12 and 22, 2024: The hospital received two new missions from the WHO and the UN, accompanied by MSF, to deliver operational supplies to the hospital, mainly fuel and some basic medical items, in order to keep the hospital partially operational. The mission described the destruction and operational capacity of the hospital as catastrophic[29].
On January 24, 2024: The WHO mission reported that the hospital's performance had improved somewhat, noting a significant decrease in the number of displaced people from 40,000 to 10,000. The hospital reportedly had 120 health workers and 300 patients and was performing 5 to 10 surgeries per day, mostly for severe injuries that require immediate care[30].
On February 7, 2024: The Palestinian Ministry of Health officially announced that hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, including Al-Shifa Hospital, were partially back in operation[31].
On February 19, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that there was a shortage of fuel in the al-Shifa Hospital and that the hospital's generator would stop working in two days[32].
On March 6, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced the death of a child at the hospital as a result of malnutrition and dehydration and that the number of victims of the famine had risen to 20[33].
On March 7, 2024: The head of the nursing department at the hospital stated that the hospital's emergency department was receiving people suffering from starvation around the clock. Local media sources also reported that the hospital receives dozens of cases of food poisoning every day due to the contamination of crops with Israeli munitions[34][35].
On March 8, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of three children as a result of malnutrition and dehydration[36].
On March 11, 2024: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) announced that a WHO team was able to deliver 24,050 liters of fuel, medical supplies and food[37].
On March 18, 2024: UNOHA reported that Israeli forces launched an operation in the area of Al-Shifa Hospital and distributed leaflets ordering displaced people to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip[38] before besieging and raiding the hospital. Several displaced youths were stripped and taken to an unknown location. Local media reported that clashes had escalated in the vicinity of the hospital complex between the Palestinian resistance and occupation forces and that occupation forces targeted the area with naval, aerial, and artillery shelling and heavy sniper and quadcopter fire[39][40]. Tanks also advanced towards the compound and blocked the main gate to the hospital, making it impossible for rescue teams to reach the bodies of martyrs in the yards of the complex.[41][42][43][44][45]. Local media also reported that the occupation forces targeted a gathering of displaced people inside the hospital, including those who approached windows[46]. The Ministry of Health announced that a fire broke out at the entrance of the hospital, which led to cases of suffocation among displaced civilians and children[47]. Several people were martyred and injured and a fire broke out at the specialized surgery building due to airstrikes and shelling[48]. Communications were cut off and displaced people were trapped in the specialized surgeries building in of the hospital[47]. Occupation forces confiscated all phones and means of communications from staff[49]. The hospital administration moved the emergency department to Building No. 8, and it was reported that there were martyrs and wounded and that it was difficult to rescue the injured due to the heavy fire[47] The occupation forces also surrounded a United Nations headquarters near the hospital.
On March 19, 2024: UNOCHA reported that the Israeli military operation inside al-Shifa Hospital continued for the second consecutive day[51]. Heavy gunfire and shelling continued in the vicinity of the hospital[51][52]. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that patients and medical teams detained in the hospital continued to starve for the second consecutive day due to the lack of water and food as a result of the siege [52]. Journalist Sa'ed Radwan said that the occupation army ordered residents around the hospital compound to leave their homes, and contact with all detainees inside the compound was cut off. The occupation forces stormed the specialized surgery building, and the reception department of the hospital[54]. The Gaza Media Office in Gaza stated that it received information about the execution by the occupation army of a number of children, civilians, patients and displaced persons inside of the hospital[55]. The occupation forces continued to remove displaced people from Al-Shifa Hospital and strip them naked. Eyewitnesses from the displaced people reported dozens of martyrs and injuries in the streets.
On March 20, 2024: The Israeli military operation inside of the hospital continued for the third consecutive day[56]. The Gaza Media Office stated that the occupation forces executed civilians and children. Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal confirmed that the Israeli occupation refused to coordinate with the Red Cross to allow civil defense crews to arrive at the hospital as there were continued appeals from families trapped in its vicinity[57].
On March 21, 2024: Shooting and violent explosions continued in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital[59][60], as occupation forces blew up the specialized building, containing a the largest stock of medicines in Gaza [61]. The occupation forces also continued to detain displaced people, patients, and medical staff. An eyewitness reported to local media sources that the occupation forces removed the wounded from the reception department of Al-Shifa Hospital and threw them on the ground in front of the tanks. The Civil Defense spokesperson in Gaza reported that the occupation forces continued to prevent civil defense crews from reaching Al-Shifa Hospital[59]. The WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced the cancellation of a WHO mission and the loss of contact with the health staff at Al-Shifa Hospital. Local media outlets reported that the occupation forces threatened the displaced people inside the hospital and demanded that they leave the hospital or it would be directly bombed[64].
On March 22, 2024: The Ministry of Health stated that the occupation forces attacked several buildings and burned down the arterial department of the al-Shifa Hospital[65]. The ministry also stated that the occupation detained about 240 patients and their companions, in addition to 10 health workers at the Prince Naif Center at the hospital[65]. Dozens of health workers were also arrested[65]. According to an eyewitness from the hospital, the occupation forces transferred all patients to the Prince Naif Center [66]. The occupation forces blew up and burned buildings on the northern side of the hospital and bulldozed land inside of it[67]. Several houses belonging to families in the area around Al-Shifa Hospital were destroyed and burned, including the families of Al-Qishawi, Arafat, Abu Al-Awn, Khalaf, Al-Ashi, Al-Khazindar, Al-Jafrawi, Hassouna, Quneitah, Al-Sourani, Bakr, Ajour, Sakik, Matar, Abdel Salam, Abu Ajwa, Abu Ramadan, Abdel Hadi and Falafel[69]. An Al-Jazeera reporter reported a distress calls from doctors, patients and displaced persons trapped in Al-Shifa Medical Center for food and water[68]. The occupation forces threatened the residents in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Hospital to blow up the entire area and force the residents to leave their homes[70].
On March 23, 2024: Israeli forces executed doctors, nurses and displaced people inside Al-Shifa Hospital Complex[71]. Photos were published by local media showing a wounded man who was run over by tanks of the occupation forces while trying to flee the hospital[71]. Eyewitnesses from inside the hospital reported that the occupation forces burned all floors of the specialized surgery building [72]. A medical source reported that the occupation forces blew up the main gate of the main emergency building in the hospital[72]. The occupation forces also burned the medicine stores[72]. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced the martyrdom of five of the wounded besieged for the sixth day, suffering from lack of water, food and medical services. The remaining cases indicate a clear deterioration of health, with worms appearing in their wounds[73]. The Media Center in Gaza reported threats by the occupation forces to medical staff and displaced persons that the military would bomb the buildings in which they are staying or that they would be tortured and killed[74]. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described that reports from inside the hospital indicated that two patients on life support died due to the power outage and that about 50 health workers and 143 patients were detained[75].
On March 24, 2024: The Ministry of Health in reported the death of five injured people due to the lack of water, food and medical services[76] as the hospital remained under siege for the tenth day and amid heavy exchanges of fire[77]. The occupation army continued to destroy residential buildings in the vicinity of the hospital[78]. The Director General of the Gaza Media Office confirmed that the occupation executed five medical staff inside hospital.
On March 25, 2024: Occupation forces shelled the vicinity of the hospital[80] and opened fire inside of the hospital, while issuing threats to people warning them to leave immediately [81]. Israeli artillery shelled the top floor of the hospital[82]. An eyewitness reported that the occupation forces arrested displaced people inside the hospital in the same rooms with decomposed bodies[83].
On March 26, 2024: The Ministry of Health stated that the occupation forces tightened the siege on the health staff, patients and wounded at Al-Shifa hospital. They were being detained inside the manpower development building in the complex, which does not have the necessary equipment for health care, and have been prevented from leaving the building[84]. According to local media, violent explosions were heard after the occupation forces blew up buildings in the area surrounding the hospital[85]. The occupation helicopters renewed firing in the vicinity of the compound[86]. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented the occupation army's execution by direct fire of 13 children at the hospital[87][88]. At around 8p.m., at least 20 Palestinians were reportedly killed or buried under the rubble when a residential building in the vicinity of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City was bombed[89].
On March 27, 2024: Occupation forces burned down 10 houses in the vicinity of Al-Shifa medical complex and completely destroyed 3 buildings with about 100 apartments[90]. The occupation forces also continued to detain and besiege about 160 patients and 25 medical staff in the Prince Naif Burns Building. Local media sources reported that the occupation forces burned the emergency building in the hospital after it was shelled[91].
On March 28, 2024: The occupation forces announced the execution of 200 Palestinians in Al-Shifa Hospital [92].
On March 29, 2024: Shooting and artillery shelling escalated as fires continued to burn inside and around al-Shifa Hospital throughout the night[93].
On March 30, 2024: The Ministry of Health stated that the occupation forces' incursion into the al-Shifa had been ongoing for two weeks. 107 trapped patients continued to be held in the Manpower Development Building under inhumane conditions, lacking water, electricity, and medicine. Of the trapped patients, 30 were crippled and 60 were medical staff. The occupation forces prevented all attempts to evacuate these patients by international organizations[94].
On March 31, 2024: Occupation forces continued to shell the vicinity of the hospital[95].
On April 1, 2024: The occupation forces withdrew from the vicinity of the hospital[96], executing two handcuffed civilians inside the compound. About 400 martyrs were killed in and around Al-Shifa complex after the withdrawal of the occupation forces[97]. The occupation forces also burned the buildings of Al-Shifa Hospital, the emergency, reception, specialized surgery, burns and maternity departments, and bulldozed the cemeteries before withdrawing[98][99], including exhuming bodies of martyrs that were dumped in different places around the hospital[100]. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, about 1,500 Palestinians were killed, injured or missing, half of them women and children, as a result of the Israeli massacre in and around the Shifa compound. The Euro-Med's preliminary estimates indicated that the occupation forces destroyed more than 1,200 housing units in the vicinity of the compound, and at least 22 patients died due to the siege of the compound. Euro-Med also confirmed that the Israeli army obstructed the arrival of relief teams and prevented any humanitarian missions or evacuations and that the occupation deliberately emptied the compound of its staff, either by execution, arrest, or forced displacement[101][102]. Furthermore, the organization reported the presence of decapitated, dismembered, and burned bodies[101].
On April 15, 2024: A new mass grave was discovered and ten bodies were recovered at Al-Shifa Hospital after a two-week siege by the occupation forces[103]. Ministry of Health sources also reported that in addition to the ten bodies found, dozens more were discovered decomposed, burned, mutilated and buried collectively or individually in various places in the hospital complex[104][105]. Nearly 400 martyrs' bodies have been recovered since the attack ended on April 1, 2024.
On May 8, 2024: The Gaza Media Office announced the discovery of a third mass grave at the hospital and the recovery of 49 bodies[106].
On May 30, 2024: The World Health Organization issued a report indicating that al-Shifa Hospital had resumed emergency medicine and dialysis services[107].
On June 9, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that occupation forces destroyed power generators in al-Shifa Medical Complex[108].
On July 8, 2024: The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus indicated via X that al-Shifa Medical Complex continued to operate despite its proximity to the areas ordered to evacuate by occupation forces[109].
On July 9, 2024: Al-Jazeera Network published images from social media showing volunteers rebuilding parts of al-Shifa Medical Compelx[110].
On July 11, 2024: Occupation forces bombed the periphery of al-Shifa Hospital using artillery shells and their airforce[111][112].
On July 18, 2024: The Ministry of Health held the annual progression exams inside al-Shifa Hospital[113].
On September 1, 2024: The emergency department at al-Shifa Medical Complex was reopened after the restoration of what had previously been the outpatients department. Assistant Director in the Ministry of Health Maher Shamieh announced that the second phase of restoration will include the surgery, maternity, central laboratory and internal medicine buildings, in addition to cleaning the outside areas to prepare them to host field hospitals[114][115].
