Reports from the International Committee of the Red Cross which is supporting the work of local Red Crescent medical staff and aid workers, say the Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City was hit by explosions and fire broke out, putting at risk the lives of around 100 patients and the medical staff caring for them.

Condemning the fact that Red Crescent hospitals and warehouses in Gaza have been so severely damaged and its paramedics and other staff prevented from carrying out their life-saving work, Noel Wardick, Head of the International Dept of the Irish Red Cross said: "the situation is completely and utterly unacceptable based on every known standard of international humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles and values."

Gaza, Al Shifa' Hospital. Visit of ICRC President, Jakob Kellenberger (left) pictured..
© ICRC

Earlier the President of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger described is as “unacceptable that wounded people receiving treatment in hospitals are put at risk.” Mr Kellenberger has just completed a three-day visit to the area that included a stop at Shifa Hospital in Gaza.

Mr Kellenberger met with Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni,and insisted once again that the rules of international humanitarian law oblige the parties to a conflict to spare civilians and to protect medical personnel and medical facilities at all times. He requested systematic access to all parts of Gaza for humanitarian assistance, especially medical assistance.

Reports from Palestine Red Crescent Society doctors and staff say that they and hundreds of patients are sheltering on the ground floor of the building which caught fire. The hospital, which likes other hospitals in Gaza is struggling to cope with the high number of sick and wounded, is overcrowded and overstretched, according to Mr Kellenberger. The hospital’s pharmacy has also been damaged.

One of the two Palestine Red Crescent warehouses in Gaza was also shelled this morning and set ablaze. The warehouse was full of relief items. The ICRC arranged for the safe passage of fire brigade trucks to the warehouse and to the UNRWA compound, also hit this morning.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Aoife Mac Eoin, National Communications Officer. Tel: 087 – 998 3788.

[1] The Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement represents 97 million volunteers in 187 national Red Cross or Red Crescent national bodies worldwide and includes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.