Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital re-opens emergency department after brutal Israeli attack

Using salvaged equipment, staff get the 80-bed unit back in operation, amid fears of renewed attacks

The reopening of the emergency department at Al Shifa Hospital, in Gaza city, months after the health complex was besieged by Israeli forces. AFP

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Al Shifa Hospital, the biggest in Gaza, reopened its emergency department on Wednesday – five months after it was besieged and attacked by Israeli forces.

Using salvaged equipment, medical staff at the complex in Rimal, Gaza city, will again be able to offer emergency treatment to Palestinians in northern Gaza, as Israeli attacks on the enclave continue.

In April, the Israeli army conducted an operation at the hospital for two weeks, resulting in dozens of deaths, many injuries, hundreds of arrests and extensive destruction in the hospital and the surrounding area.

Mass graves were later discovered there, after Israeli forces withdrew.

But although Al Shifa's emergency department has now reopened, officials fear further strikes.

Mutasim Salah, a member of the emergency committee at the Gaza Ministry of Health, told The National of his concerns about a possible Israeli attack on the emergency department, even though it is in a designated “safe zone”.

“We requested assurances that the section would not be targeted, but as we know, the occupation forces can betray us at any moment and surprise us with a new attack,” he said.

Mr Salah said the department has no new medical equipment, instead relying on what hospital staff managed to salvage.

“We haven’t received any medical equipment or devices from external sources. The equipment we have is refurbished and was salvaged from Al Shifa Medical Complex,” he said.

Mr Salah said a small generator is currently working to ensure a good supply of electricity and it is being fuelled by reallocating diesel from other hospitals in northern Gaza. The emergency department has 80 beds, including 10 in the intensive care unit.

Since June, efforts have been carried out to restore parts of the hospital, but difficulties obtaining materials due to border closures and Israeli restrictions are slowing down the process.

The health official said a technical engineering team was brought in to develop a plan to renovate the outpatient clinic building, allowing the emergency department to reopen there. However, most of the complex remains destroyed, its departments needing to be rebuilt from scratch.

“What has been accomplished is just the first step toward reconstruction and rebuilding Gaza's healthcare system that the Israeli forces have destroyed,” Mr Salah said.

A second phase of the renovation at the hospital is continuing and is expected to focus on the surgery, maternity, central laboratory and internal medicine buildings.

“We are also working on preparing the hospital grounds to potentially accommodate field hospitals, if the opportunity arises,” Mr Salah said.