On November 10, 2023, Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra reported that Israel’s military targeted a yard at the al-Shifa Hospital complex, where thousands of displaced Palestinians are taking refuge. “Israel is now undertaking these dangerous steps against the hospitals to put them completely out of commission and subsequently displace the people sheltering in them, as well as the patients and medics,” al-Qudra told Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military claims that Hamas operates a command center at the hospital site, which includes entrances to its extensive tunnel network. Both Hamas and hospital officials have denied this, urging the international community to send representatives to investigate.
“This led to a lot of casualties, including critical injuries. It could have been a massacre in this place because of the number of people in this complex,” Abu Salmiya, director general of al-Shifa hospital, said. “This is a war against the hospitals and a war against all the [Palestinian] citizens,” al-Qudra added.
Footage of the aftermath revealed people screaming and seeking cover, while an injured man was seen lying on the pavement in a pool of blood.
Additionally, Indonesia’s foreign ministry reported that explosions overnight damaged the Indonesian Hospital, located at the northern end of the enclave, where many wounded and displaced Palestinians are sheltering nearby. “Indonesia once again condemns the savage attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza,” the ministry stated.