At least four people have been killed and dozens of others wounded in an Israeli air attack on a hospital complex in central Gaza where displaced Palestinians sought shelter from Israel’s assault on the besieged territory.
Israeli forces have regularly attacked medical facilities in Gaza since the assault began more than a year ago. In recent months, it has repeatedly struck crowded shelters and tent sites, alleging armed groups were using them.
“What happened was that we woke up to smoke, flames, fire and burning pieces falling on the tents from every direction. The explosions terrified us in our tents and outside where we live behind Al-Aqsa Hospital,” Om Ahmad Radi, a survivor at the scene, told Al Jazeera.
Volunteer surgeon Mohammad Tahir said they were dealing with victims with burns on 60 to 80 percent of their bodies – many of whom won’t survive.
“Patients with significant high percentage burns – unfortunately, their fate is sealed. They won’t even make it to the ICU. They will die,” he told Al Jazeera from outside the hospital.
“It’s a horror show here. Honestly, sometimes I feel like this is not real life, that this can go on, and this degree of suffering is allowed to happen in this world.”
Hospital records showed that four people were killed and 40 wounded, The Associated Press news agency reported. Twenty-five people were transferred to the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza after suffering severe burns, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Gaza’s Media Office said it was the seventh time this year that Israel has hit the grounds of Al-Aqsa Hospital and the third in the past couple of weeks, killing Palestinians who were forced to flee their homes.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said more than 20 tents were destroyed in the attack.
“There were many people inside the tents as the fire spread, who could not be saved,” he said. “We are looking at a large number [of deaths] as these tents are close to each other, back-to-back, and set up in a small space inside the hospital courtyard.”
Last week, a United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) released a report which found Israel perpetrating “a concerted policy to destroy Gaza’s healthcare system”.
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