Israeli troops end 19-day siege of Al-Shifa Hospital

Al Shifa Hospital is now riddled with shrapnel and heavily damaged. Photo: AFP Palestinians gather around the destroyed Al-Shifa hospital after the withdrawal of Israeli troops Photo: Osama Rabiei/Anadolu

Rescue workers and journalists, Those arriving at the scene Monday morning reported multiple bodies scattered throughout the area. complex.

«The scale of destruction inside the complex and the buildings around it is very large,» the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Health Ministry said in a statement. “Dozens of bodies, some of them decomposed, were found in and around the Al Shifa medical complex.”

Aerial photographs of the hospital showed widespread destruction. Graphic photographs of bulldozed areas show bodies and body parts apparently crushed by escaping vehicles.

Residents who arrived in Al Shifa to inspect the damage spoke of «total destruction.» “The situation is indescribable,” Yahya Abu Auf told The Associated Press at the scene. «The occupation has destroyed all meaning of life here.»

A spokesman for the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Monday that some hospital buildings had been set on fire by Israeli troops.

“The situation is difficult. Medical personnel, some of them were killed, others were tortured, others were detained and, most importantly, they were under siege for two weeks without any medicine, not even food or water,” Raeed Al-Nims told Al-Nims TV. Jazeera.»

A Palestinian woman sits among the ruins of Al-Shifa after the withdrawal of IDF troops. Photo: AFP

Mr Hagari said on Monday that Israeli forces had done everything possible to prevent civilian casualties, including among hospital patients.

Although some patients were evacuated to two other hospitals , Dozens of others are believed to have remained inside the compound.

At least 21 patients have died in al-Shifa since the IDF began its operation, according to the World Health Organization.

< p>The famous surgeon Ahmad Makadme died in hospital on Monday. , it was announced. Ghassan Abu Sitta, another surgeon from Al Shifa, thanked him for his dedication to his work, saying it was “unlike anything I have ever seen.”