Al-Shifa Complex is a government complex affiliated with the Palestinian Ministry of Health. It is the largest health institution providing medical services in the Gaza Strip. It was established in 1946 and was subject to occupation in 1967, then to the Palestinian Authority after the Oslo Accords. It developed over time and became the largest medical complex that includes 3 specialized hospitals and employs 25% of hospital workers in the entire Gaza Strip.
the site
Al-Shifa Medical Complex is located at a crossroads in the central western area of Gaza City in the Strip, overlooking Izz al-Din al-Qassam and Al-Wahda Streets. In its vicinity is Al-Shifa Mosque, and the area of the complex is 45 thousand square meters.
the date
The construction of the hospital dates back to the middle of the 20th century, specifically in 1946, when the British Mandate established the hospital in Gaza City. In its initial form, it had small kiosks aimed at providing medical care services to patients.
After the end of the British Mandate, the hospital became affiliated with the Egyptian administration. At that time, its departments expanded and the number of its beds increased, and it continued under Egyptian management for nearly two decades.
In 1967, the hospital became affiliated with the Israeli occupation after it took control of the area following the June setback, and then decided to rebuild it in a manner similar to Israeli hospitals.
The hospital now includes more rooms for patients, and each room can accommodate a maximum of 3 patients, but this number was limited compared to the area covered by the hospital, especially since most of the hospitals that exist now did not exist at that time, and remained as they were in the eighties and mid-nineties.
With the beginning of the First Intifada (December 1987), the role of the hospital emerged as a primary point of confrontation between members of the army and the Palestinians. The first confrontation in the Intifada occurred there when Palestinian students stormed it to confront the occupation soldiers. It was a gathering center for the army, and during the Intifada, Israeli soldiers tried to steal bodies. Palestinian martyrs from the hospital.
When the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel signed the Oslo Accords in 1993, the hospital became affiliated with the administration of the Palestinian Authority. It then received Japanese and European support for development, construction of new buildings, and expansion of rooms. The hospital subsequently witnessed several development processes that transformed it into a medical complex that includes several specialized hospitals.
In 2023, the hospital’s exterior structure needed restoration. Parts of concrete were falling from the ceilings and walls, and due to the inability to secure materials as a result of the siege and the lack of financial support, the restoration process was not completed.
Departments of the medical complex
Today, Al-Shifa Complex includes 3 specialized hospitals:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital with a nursery department for premature babies.
- Internal Medicine Hospital.
- Surgery hospital.
- In addition to the emergency department, intensive care unit, radiology, blood bank, planning, and others.
The hospital provides its services specifically to residents of Gaza City, in addition to receiving cases from other cities where specialized hospitals are not available.
It also provides various therapeutic and health services and operations to large numbers of residents. For example, in 2020, the hospital provided therapeutic services to 460,000 citizens, in addition to providing health services to approximately 250,000 citizens in the emergency department, and in the same year 25,000 surgical operations and 69 operations were performed there. A dialysis session and 13,000 births.
Workers in the complex
The number of employees in Al-Shifa Medical Complex is approximately a quarter of the number of employees in all hospitals in the sector, as it employs about 1,500 employees, including more than 500 doctors, 760 nurses, and 32 pharmacists, in addition to 200 administrative employees.
His role in wars
Al-Shifa Complex plays an essential role in the wars on the Gaza Strip, as it receives wounded people and performs surgical operations.
In the Al-Aqsa Flood War of 2023, the hospital’s capacity reached 164%. The number of casualties was huge and continuous as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing, and the hospital suffered from a catastrophic situation as a result of the lack of fuel and medicine, the large number of wounded, the influx of large numbers of injured people to it, and the fatigue that affected the medical staff as a result of the continuous work.
In addition, a large number of journalists and media professionals gather at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, considering it a fairly safe place and a point from which it is easy to reach the rest of the regions and neighborhoods. It is also a place that makes it easy for them to cover the event through its proximity to the medical staff and the cases being treated.
The hospital plays an essential role in sheltering families, as citizens and families resort to it due to the violent bombing of residential neighborhoods and homes, and they sleep in the outer courtyards. In the 2021 aggression, the complex prepared tents to shelter displaced families in the backyard.
During the flood of Al-Aqsa in 2023, more than 35,000 citizens were displaced to take refuge from the raids that targeted their homes, and families spent the night in the hospital’s corridors, rooms, and courtyards.
A massacre at the door of the medical complex
On Friday, the third of November 2023, the occupation targeted ambulances in front of the gate of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, which led to the death and injury of dozens of citizens. Among the wounded were doctors, paramedics, the injured, and citizens accompanying the wounded who gathered around the ambulances at the entrance to the complex.
The Israeli army admitted to targeting ambulances at the gate of the medical complex, claiming that “they are being used by a Hamas cell.”
Pictures transmitted by news agencies show that the targets are civilians, wounded, doctors and paramedics.
The occupation had previously targeted the vicinity of Al-Shifa Medical Complex, on October 9, 2023, causing damage to the nursery section of the complex.
