Gaza City hospitals close, patients flee as Israeli forces advance

Source: WaPo

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"... Gaza’s only specialized pediatric hospital, al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, was forced to close on Monday after it sustained damage in an Israeli attack on Sept. 16. Eighty children were receiving care when three artillery shells struck the hospital without prior warning, hospital director Jamil Suleiman said in an interview. The attack caused the hospital’s computer systems to fail, shut off its water supply and “spread panic,” he said. The patients who were able to walk — about half — soon left on their own.

“The army did not officially order the hospital to shut down, but they blocked anyone attempting to enter, as drones were firing on any movement in the hospital area,” Suleiman said. “Gradually, the situation deteriorated: People could not safely reach the hospital, and medical staff were at great risk traveling in and out. As a result, we made the decision to close and evacuate the hospital.”

The Israel Defense Forces did not immediately comment on the strike at the hospital.

Remaining patients were sent to other hospitals in Gaza City — but much of the facility’s medical equipment is still stuck inside, and drones fired on staff who attempted to recover it, Suleiman said..."



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