Al-Shifa Hospital

Al-Shifa Hospital (Mustašfah al-Šifāʔ), properly known as Dar Al-Shifa Hospital (Mustašfat Dār al-Šifāʔ), is the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, located in the neighbourhood of North Rimal in Gaza City in the Gaza Governorate. The current director of the hospital is Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya.
During the 2014 Gaza War The Washington Post called it "the de facto headquarters" of Hamas. Israel has accused Hamas of using the hospital to shield it from attack, and human rights organization Amnesty International has documented Hamas using disused areas on the hospital grounds to interrogate, torture and execute alleged collaborators. Hamas, along with al-Shifa's medical leadership, have denied the claims.
History
Dar Al-Shifa, which means "house of healing" in Arabic, was originally a British Army barracks, but was transformed into a center to provide treatment for quarantine and febrile diseases by the government of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1946. Prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, al-Shifa was one of two hospitals in Gaza, the other being al-Ahli Arab Hospital. When the Egyptians administered the Gaza Strip after the war, the quarantine and febrile diseases department was relocated to another area in the city, and al-Shifa developed into the central hospital of Gaza. Initially, a department for internal medicine was established, followed by a new wing for surgery, and subsequently new buildings for pediatrics and ophthalmology were added to the hospital. In 2013, a special surgical building was opened.
After a brief occupation by Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis, the returning Egyptian administration, under directives by president Gamal Abdel Nasser, paid more attention to the health and social situation of Gaza, and al-Shifa was expanded to include departments for obstetrics and gynecology. They established a new health administration for the Gaza region, later building several clinics throughout the city that were attended by doctors from the hospital. The largest department in al-Shifa was internal medicine (100 beds), then pediatrics (70 beds), surgery (50 beds), ophthalmology (20 beds) and gynecology (10 beds).
Israeli occupation and Palestinian control
When Israel occupied Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, the entire Egyptian administration and staff in the hospital were taken prisoner. By 1969, the department of internal medicine grew to contain several sub-departments. The hospital underwent a major Israeli renovation in the 1980s as part of a showcase project to improve the living conditions of Gaza residents.
Much of the media coverage of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict was broadcast or written by correspondents reporting from the hospital.
The two Norwegian medical doctors, Erik Fosse and Mads Gilbert, have done humanitarian work at the hospital.
Fatah–Hamas conflict
During the Fatah–Hamas conflict, Fatah attacked the hospital, drawing Hamas fire from within the building. Some injured people brought to the hospital were killed by Hamas militants once inside. A doctor in the hospital reported, “The medical staff are suffering from fear and terror, particularly of the Hamas fighters, who are in every corner of the hospital.”
2008–2009 war
During the Gaza War (2008–2009), Al-Shifa hospital overflowed with Palestinians injured by Israeli airstrikes. Already before the war, the blockade of Gaza had caused a shortage of ventilation systems, patient-handling systems such as operating tables, beds, trolleys, and various types of medical equipment. These shortages affected clinical work.
In the first 13 days of the war, about 360 surgical operations were performed. Among the people brought to the hospital, about 340 were pronounced dead on arrival. The number of injuries treated during this period was 1039, but this is regarded as an underestimate, since it doesn't include many patients with minor injuries.
2014 war
Israeli operations during 2014 Gaza War killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and injured over 11,000. During the war, a total of 8,592 patients visited Al-Shifa hospital, and most were civilians. Of these, 490 (5.7%) were dead on arrival. After a detailed triage, 1808 patients were admitted, of whom 78 (4.3%) died in the hospital. 842 major life-saving surgeries were performed, including 90 laparotomies, 146 orthopaedic fixations, 106 craniotomies, 69 thoracotomies/airway interventions, 38 vascular procedures, 49 amputations, 68 debridements, and 176 other procedures.
Compared to the 2012 war, Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission rates doubled and ICU mortality rates tripled. The authors speculate that might be due to the "extreme character" of the attacks in 2014.
2014 Gaza War
During the 2014 Gaza War, the hospital was described by The Washington Post as being a "de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices."
Wall Street Journal correspondent Nick Casey tweeted a photo of Hamas MP and media spokesperson Mushir Al Masri using the outside of Shifa hospital for media interviews, but later deleted it.
2023 war
During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, al-Shifa Hospital was overwhelmed with wounded and dying people, and was running short on fuel, beds, and medical supplies.
The bombardment of nearby regions has pushed the hospital beyond its capacity to treat wounded people and it is close to collapse. The hospital is also housing thousands of displaced Palestinians seeking shelter from airstrikes during the war.
Ghassan Abu-Sittah, a resident doctor called the assertion of Hamas using the hospital an "outlandish excuse" and said that it was impossible to evacuate critically injured patients.
Accusations of misuse by Hamas
During the 2008-2009 Gaza War, The New York Times reported that "armed Hamas militants in civilian clothes roved the halls" killing alleged collaborators. Several reports by Israeli Shin Bet officials alleged that Hamas used Al-Shifa hospital as a bunker and refuge, knowing it would be spared by air strikes. Ahmed Jabari was a leader of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades alleged to have hidden there.
PBS Wide Angle which interviewed a doctor from Gaza who preferred to be anonymous said that he believed that Hamas officials are present under the hospital.
In 2009, the Palestinian Health Ministry, run by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, accused Hamas members of taking control of wards in Shifa Hospital, using them for interrogation and imprisonment, while withholding medical care. The ministry also called on Hamas to stop stealing and redirecting the medical resources to the organization's warehouses and centers (outside of the hospital).
Amnesty International documented how the Hamas forces used the abandoned areas of the hospital to abduct, torture, and kill members of their Palestinian opposition under an operation codenamed “Strangling Necks”. The Washington Post reported that the hospital had become a "de facto headquarters for Hamas leaders, who can be seen in the hallways and offices." Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert rejected that the hospital was used a base by Hamas officials or militants. Israeli authorities subsequently accused Dr. Gilbert of facilitating propaganda for Hamas.
Reporting from the Gaza hospital to the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, Aishi Zidan reported that a rocket was fired from the area of the hospital. This was seized upon by the Israeli press, prompting the journalist to take to Facebook to note that her words had been taken out of context and used as propaganda, and that the rocket had actually been fired from "somewhere behind the hospital".
Following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the IDF said that they had captured and interrogated two Hamas Nukhba members. According to the IDF, they said that Hamas has been using medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, especially the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, to shield themselves from Israeli strikes and to store weapons and ammunition. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit has accused Hamas of using the hospital as cover, citing videos and intelligence. Hamas has denied these claims. Hamas rejected the accusation wholesale, saying that Israel was attempting to justify an attack on the hospital and saying the Israeli accusations "no basis in truth" and that Israel had fabricated evidence.
References
Bibliography
Hospitals in Gaza City
Hospitals established in the 1920s
Rimal