Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital () is a hospital in Deir al-Balah,

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. Shuhada was founded in 2001. As of 2018, it was one of fifteen public hospitals in the Gaza Strip. It is managed by

UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

, The Ministry of Health and various NGOs. The hospital served an estimated 18,000 patients each month until recently. According to The Ministry of Health, the hospital's emergency department had over 11,000 visits. In 2018, the hospital had 166 beds.

History

Caught in the ongoing

Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...

, the hospital has both been targeted and faced repercussions of nearby targeting from the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

. In 2014, several shells hit the hospital's intensive care unit in an IDF bombing campaign that was targeting anti-tank missiles in the area. Four

Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

were killed, and an estimated forty others were injured. During the

2023 Israel-Hamas war 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

, the hospital faced immense overcrowding. IDF airstrikes in Deir al-Balah and around the hospital resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

2023 Israel-Hamas War

In June 2024, the situation at the hospital was said to be "something above emergency", as the hospital ran out of fuel. In July 2024, an Israeli airstrike destroyed a media tent outside the hospital. In August 2024, at least four Palestinians including a woman were killed and 18 were injured in an Israeli bombing of tents used by displaced people in the courtyard of the hospital. These displaced people had moved into the courtyard following the bombing of a nearby evacuation shelter in late-July 2024. At this point, the Al Aqsa Hospital was one of the last remaining hospitals operating in Gaza.

References

2001 establishments in the Palestinian territories Deir al-Balah Hospitals established in 2001 Hospitals in the State of Palestine {{Palestine-struct-stub

History

2023 Israel-Hamas War

See also

References