Dire situation in "completely besieged" refugee camp in northern Gaza, says hospital director

 

Ali Assaf, center, is comforted in front of the Al-Maamadani Hospital as he mourns his family members who were killed by Israel in an overnight airstrike, in the Jabalya refugee camp in Gaza, on October 12. He is reportedly the only survivor from his family. 

Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images

Some 300 people have been killed in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza since the beginning of the latest Israeli ground operation in the area nine days ago, the Gaza Government Media Office said Sunday.

The office said heavy fighting meant emergency workers had not yet been able to recover dozens of those who have been killed in the area, leaving decomposing bodies in the streets and buildings.

The Israeli military reinvaded Jabalya earlier this month after saying there were signs of “the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the area.” This is the third time Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched a ground operation in the Jabalya camp.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the closest medical facility to Jabalya, said medical teams in the hospital were overwhelmed by the high number of casualties that keep arriving amid the heavy fighting.

Abu Safiya said the Jabalya camp was now “completely besieged,” which made it impossible to bring in health supplies, food and the specialized medical teams that are so desperately needed there.

He said the hospital currently has enough fuel for 10 days, after a delivery on Saturday. That delivery was delayed by Israel for three days, putting the hospital dangerously close to running out of electricity.

The IDF said it asked people in the area to evacuate, although many locals have told CNN it was too dangerous to try to leave.