The catastrophic situation at a hospital in northern Gaza deepened on Tuesday as dozens of casualties arrived following an Israeli airstrike, according to one of just two remaining doctors at the facility.
Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and director of the Kamal Adwan hospital, said 15 bodies and 35 wounded people had been brought to the medical center in the past few hours, but added they could only receive limited treatment due to desperate shortages of supplies following weeks of Israeli bombardment.
“The situation has been extremely catastrophic since 6 a.m.,” Abu Safiya told CNN. “We stand helpless, watching them die before our eyes, with no resources to assist them.”
The chaotic scene was compounded by the separate bombing of a house next to the hospital, he added. “Injured individuals are arriving at the hospital around the clock without pause,” Abu Safiya said. Some 57 medical workers were arrested by the Israeli military in a raid on the hospital last week, Abu Safiya said, leaving himself, another pediatrician and a few nurses as the only remaining medical staff.
Abu Safiya said they were ill-equipped to deal with the constant arrival of patients with critical injuries and he urged the international community to open a humanitarian corridor to allow medical supplies, staff and ambulances to reach the hospital.
“Imagine people arriving on donkey carts, the scene is horrific,” he said, as he accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. “This is a true collective massacre, genocide, and what is happening now is a catastrophe in every sense of the word,” he said.
Israel has previously denied allegations of genocide in Gaza. On Monday an Israeli military official said troops raided Kamal Adwan hospital last week following “significant fighting” around the facility. Israeli forces detained “more than 100 Hamas terrorists” and found weapons and ammunition on the hospital grounds, the official said.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims. On Tuesday, Abu Safiya said the weapons found at the hospital belonged to security staff who had abandoned them during the raid.