JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Fighting has intensified in central Gaza, leading to near-daily evacuation orders that upend the lives of thousands of Palestinians. The Israeli military issued its latest orders for the areas around one of the last remaining hospitals in Gaza - Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. And for about three days, the hospital has been quickly emptying out as patients and Palestinians sheltering there flee. NPR producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, and NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi bring this report.
(SOUNDBITE OF OXYGEN TANK BEEPING)
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: The sound of an oxygen tank beeps loudly through the corridors of Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah. Days ago, the beep would have been drowned by the din of staff, patients and families crowding the hallways.
(SOUNDBITE OF OXYGEN TANK BEEPING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: Today, the hospital is near empty - beds abandoned, incubators emptied and waiting rooms deserted. Many of these new Israeli military evacuation orders in central Gaza have been right around Al-Aqsa Hospital. During these past 10 months of war, the hospital had swelled to serving 700 patients. Now, after the evacuations, it's down to 100, according to doctors. NPR's Gaza producer, Anas Baba, visited Al-Aqsa Hospital.
ANAS BABA, BYLINE: This is an interview with Dr. Mohamed Shaheen from inside of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
AL-SHALCHI: Dr. Shaheen says, when the evacuation orders were issued, he tried to calm the patients and their families.
MOHAMED SHAHEEN: We told them, you can stay. We are with you. We are - we'll get you to your treatment.
AL-SHALCHI: The Israeli military also said it informed Palestinian health officials that hospitals need not evacuate, but Palestinians still hurried to escape. Dr. Shaheen says that's because Palestinians have repeatedly experienced what it's like when the Israeli military pushes into an area. Hospitals are raided. Entire medical complexes are rendered out of use and dozens of civilians killed.
SHAHEEN: They are evacuating by themselves because they are afraid from what happening in the previous history of Nasser, Al-Shifa Hospital, Kamal Adwan, Indonesian Hospital. All of these stories is in their mind.
AL-SHALCHI: Aid groups say that Israeli destruction of hospitals in Gaza and the dismantling of the health system there is systemic. The Israeli military says Hamas uses hospitals as operation centers, and it does its best to move civilians out of harm's way. Rab’a al-Ejlah’s diabetic father is one of the few remaining at Al-Aqsa Hospital, receiving treatment. She says it was awful watching people scrambling, grabbing mattresses, piling trucks with blankets and gallons of water.
RAB’A AL-EJLAH: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "I was going to cry from the sight," al-Ejlah says. "It was like a scene from the Day of Judgment."
But she says because her father is so sick, they have no choice but to stay.
AL-EJLAH: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "We won't leave," al-Ejlah says. "I believe in fate, and we'll see what God has written for us."
Doctors Without Borders, also known as MSF, supports Al-Aqsa Hospital. The medical aid group says it can't provide all of its services now and must only focus on providing lifesaving treatment. Dr. Shaheen, who once enjoyed the prestige of working at a large hospital in Gaza, now says his family sleeps in a tent. He says he, too, is feeling the pressure to flee, but that's a last resort.
SHAHEEN: In this morning, I am fighting with my family and my wife. But this is my duty, and this is my responsibility in Al-Aqsa.
AL-SHALCHI: Despite the gravity of the situation, Dr. Shaheen has a light moment with NPR's producer, Anas Baba, when asked how long he could hold out.
BABA: What exactly your own plan if you hear that the tank is, like, five or 10 meters away from Al-Aqsa? What are you going to do?
SHAHEEN: Run. Just run.
(LAUGHTER)
AL-SHALCHI: With Anas Baba in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, I'm Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR News, Tel Aviv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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