Patients in Gaza 'left to face death'

NT Bureau, Agencies

Gaza City/Tel Aviv: Gaza’s two largest hospitals – al-Shifa and alQuds – have both closed after running out of fuel. Medics have warned of mounting casualties among patients, including newborn babies, and concern of spreading disease is growing, as Israeli forces approach the gates of al-Shifa, Gaza City’s main hospital, according to Al Jazeera.

Besieged for days by Israel’s military, doctors inside the hospital reiterated on Monday that the lack of fuel for electricity generators is leaving them unable to save patients.

Israel has refused to back down, claiming that the hospital hides a Hamas base. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Monday that numerous bodies are accumulating outside AlShifa Hospital.

Yusuf Abu al-Reesh, deputy health minister reportedly said that the (Israeli) occupation forces are targeting the yards of the Al-Shifa Hospital where hundreds of bodies are piled up outside.

Fighting has been concentrated in a tightening circle around the Gaza Strip’s largest hospital, where thousands of civilians have sought shelter.

The Israeli military, whose ground forces entered the Strip in late October and quickly encircled the north’s main settlement Gaza City, has said that alShifa is the primary target in its battle to seize control of the northern half of the enclave.

Israel says that Hamas fighters have an underground headquarters in tunnels beneath the hospital and are deliberately using its patients as a shield, a claim that Hamas denies.

Media reports on Monday suggested that thousands of people have fled the hospital.

But huge numbers also remain trapped within. At least 650 patients remain, as well as staff, said Gaza’s Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf alQudra, who was inside alShifa Hospital in Gaza City, according to Al Jazeera.

“The tank is outside the gate of the outpatient clinic department, this is how the situation looks this morning,” al-Qudra told the Reuters news agency by phone. Israeli snipers and drones were firing into the hospital, making it impossible for medics and patients to move around, he added.

“We are besieged and are inside a circle of death,” he said.

Shame on govts supporting this destruction: Priyanka Gandhi

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday termed as "deplorable and disgraceful" the killing of over 10,000 people in Gaza, and said it is a "shame on the governments supporting this destruction".

The Congress general secretary said still there is no shock to the conscience of those supporting this "genocide" In a post on X, Gandhi said, "What a deplorable and disgraceful milestone…over 10,000 people killed in Gaza of which almost half are children. One child is being killed every ten minutes according to the WHO, and now tiny babies had to be removed from their incubators due to lack of oxygen and were left to die."

"Still, no shock to the conscience of those supporting this genocide, no ceasefire…just more bombs, more violence, more killings and more suffering," she said. Shame on the governments supporting this destruction, Gandhi said.

UK PM sacks Suella over Palestine remark

British PM Rishi Sunak has sacked country's interior minister Suella Braverman, the BBC reported on Monday.

Braverman was under fire after she published an inflammatory article attacking the country police's handling of a planned pro-Palestinian march.

In an opinion piece published ahead of a pro-Palestinian march on Saturday, Braverman accused the police of "double standard" in the way they treat protesters. Braverman claimed aggressive right-wing protesters were "rightly met with a stern response", while "proPalestinian mobs" were "largely ignored".

She went on to say police were applying "double standards" and "played favourites when it comes to demonstrators".