Hospitals in Gaza stuggle to treat patients without fuel
Israeli tanks have taken up positions at the gates of Gaza city's main hospital, Al Shifa, with the conditions inside described as catastrophic.
Transcript
00:00 We do have staff at Al-Shifa Hospital. We have 300 staff in Gaza and we have a number
00:07 of staff still working in Al-Shifa, despite the fact that the hospital has been under
00:13 continuous fire. And they are seeing the hospital structure actually being damaged from bombings.
00:20 They're being attacked by snipers. They are truly in the thick of the war zone.
00:26 It's hard to get information out. So do you know the condition of the babies who are being
00:31 held there? We've heard in particular premature babies are at risk of death.
00:37 There are 37 babies that are reported been removed from the NICU and from their life-saving
00:45 care in Al-Shifa. They are 37 of 600 patients who are absolutely in critical condition.
00:53 We're talking about ICU patients. And we are seeing absolutely no stop in the attack on
01:01 civilians, the attack on babies, children, mothers who are simply seeking shelter inside
01:09 the hospital system from after suffering massive injuries. People are dying horrible deaths.
01:16 And the international community, including the government of Australia, cannot move fast
01:21 enough to push for a ceasefire so that people on both sides of this conflict have access
01:27 to safe health care. Israel says the hospital sits above tunnels
01:31 being used by Hamas fighters, that it's housing a headquarters for Hamas. That's something
01:37 that Hamas denies. What's your response? This is a question I have asked, and this
01:43 is not anything that I can confirm. There's no information coming from the team members
01:49 that I've spoken to, and international team members that I've spoken to, that can confirm
01:55 this. It's not to say it doesn't happen. It's not a denial. It is just not something that
02:01 MSF can confirm. Because Israel is saying that it now has concrete
02:05 evidence in terms of a video showing a command centre and suicide vests have been found in
02:12 the basement of a children's hospital in Gaza. We know that the accusation even from before
02:19 this conflict is that Hamas does use hospitals and schools and people as human shields.
02:26 And that, if it is the case, is a violation of international humanitarian law, which of
02:31 course we would condemn. But let me say this. There is enough evidence to prove that tens
02:37 of thousands of people in Gaza are suffering from horrific injuries and wild violations
02:43 of international humanitarian law that we can establish that for sure. As doctors and
02:48 nurses what we are seeing is some of the most horrific attacks on civilians we have ever
02:53 witnessed in our 50-year history as an international medical organization. And so that is what
03:00 we do know. And that is happening today. It's happening every minute that we wait for a
03:05 ceasefire.
03:05 ceasefire.
03:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]