A doctor in a Gaza hospital has begged for an end to the crisis in the region, warning they have been left with nothing for the thousands of people who have been admitted.
Footage from inside the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, seen by Sky News, shows scores of people, including children and babies, being treated by doctors, as more people continue to be wheeled in – despite an evacuation order for the city several days ago ahead of an expected ground invasion.
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An emotional Dr Mohammed Ghneim, emergency medicine doctor at the hospital, told cameras: “This is very difficult for us.
“The fuel will run out in the coming days, so there’s no electricity and no oxygen pumps… this will affect the admission of people in the hospital.
“We have many civilians who came to the hospital to find a safe place – we have more than 2,500 people who are in the hospital.
“This will affect our staff, this will affect our work.”
He concluded with a plea: “Please if you are a human, this is an urgent appeal – please stop this. Save Gaza. Please support Gaza.
“We have no medical supplies, we have no gas, no medication – we have nothing. Please stop this humanitarian crisis.”
‘There is no humanitarian crisis’ – Israel
Earlier on Monday, Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, said “there is no humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
Speaking to Kay Burley, she said: “Israel is in charge of the safety of Israelis, Hamas is in charge of the safety of the Palestinians.
“This is the time that Hamas need to pay the price.”
Israel has cut off electricity and water supply to the Gaza Strip, as well as imposed a blockade on food and fuel, after Hamas, a militant group which controls the sliver of land, attacked the country, killing at least 1,400 people.
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Other footage from inside the hospital shows a sea of men wearing high visibility vests surrounding a man on a gurney and chanting, with later clips showing many of them sobbing beside him.
Another man is also rushed into a surgical theatre while people try and get through the doors to see him – but are ultimately kept away.
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What is life like in Gaza?
The border at Rafah remains closed – but there is some hope
The desperate scenes at the hospital echo those at the Gazan border with Egypt, where many people have headed in the hope humanitarian aid with get through, after Israel told more than a million Palestinians to flee south.
Despite rumours the Rafah border could open to allow aid through, a deal broke down meaning the gates stayed closed.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, has landed back in Israel for the second time since the crisis began, in an effort to broker a deal to get the border open, and aid inside Gaza.
Hamas has claimed Israel has shelled the Rafah crossing, according to a radio station affiliated with the group.
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Trucks on ‘standby’ at Rafah border
Other key developments include:
• Hamas denies Israel’s claim it has resumed water supplies to Gaza
• Netanyahu earlier vowed to “demolish Hamas” during an expanded emergency cabinet meeting
• US secretary of state Antony Blinken returns to Israel after completing six-country tour
• The UN is warning fuel at all hospitals across the Gaza Strip will only last for another 24 hours
• The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says it has killed a commander of the Hamas militant group in an airstrike
• Rishi Sunak urges Netanyahu to ‘minimise impact on civilians’
• Vladimir Putin to speak separately to leaders of Israel, Iran, Syria, Egypt and Palestinian Authority President Abbas
• Kremlin calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ and start of ‘political settlement process’
‘The world has lost its humanity’
Fears are growing around the situation inside Gaza, with the United Nations saying it is “even running out of body bags”.
“Gaza is being strangled, and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity,” said United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini.
“There is not one drop of water, not one grain of wheat, not a litre of fuel that has been allowed into the Gaza Strip for the last eight days.”
Men in a Gaza hospital gathered around a gurney, crying while holding the man laid in front of them
The number of people seeking shelter in UNRWA facilities is also rising, with Mr Lazzarini saying: “We do not have any more capacity to deal with them.”
“Gaza is being strangled, and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity,” said United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini.
“There is not one drop of water, not one grain of wheat, not a litre of fuel that has been allowed into the Gaza Strip for the last eight days.”
The number of people seeking shelter in UNRWA facilities is also rising, with Mr Lazzarini saying: “We do not have any more capacity to deal with them.”
He added: “Every story coming out of Gaza is about survival, despair and loss… old people, children, pregnant women, people with disabilities are just being deprived of their basic human dignity, and this is a total disgrace,”
