WHO assessment team visited Al-Shifa Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and saw signs of Israeli shelling and shooting.
The WHO-led team was only able to spend one hour at the hospital on Saturday for security reasons for safety reasons.
The hospital has been characterised as a “death zone,” the team described the situation as “desperate”: due to a lack of clean water, fuel, medicine and other basic necessities, the hospital is not actually functioning as a medical facility. The corridors and grounds of the hospital were littered with medical and solid waste, and patients and medical staff expressed fears for their health and safety, the report says.
“Signs of shelling and gunfire were evident. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance of the hospital and were told more than 80 people were buried there.”
Twenty-five health workers and 291 patients remain in Al-Shifa, including 32 babies in critical condition, WHO said.
“WHO and partners are urgently developing plans for the immediate evacuation of the remaining patients, staff and their families.”
It is reported that in the next 24-72 hours, additional funds will be organised to evacuate patients to other hospitals in Gaza.
