TEL AVIV, Jan. 5, 2009

Gaza Hospital In Crisis

CBS Evening News: Tending To Hundreds Of Civilians, Hospital Says Without Supplies It Cannot Save Lives

    • The beds are all busy at Al-Shifa Hospital; the courtyard's a crowded waiting room; the morgue is full.

      The beds are all busy at Al-Shifa Hospital; the courtyard's a crowded waiting room; the morgue is full.  (CBS)

    • Smoke and explosions are seen rising during an Israeli army operation in the northern Gaza.

      Smoke and explosions are seen rising during an Israeli army operation in the northern Gaza.  (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

    Previous slide Next slide
(CBS)  As the invasion of Gaza by Israeli troops continues, conditions in Gaza are getting worse by the day. There's no power and little drinking water in Gaza City. And the main hospital is unable to provide relief from the growing humanitarian crisis, CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports.

At the biggest hospital in Gaza, the emergency is overwhelming is the E.R.

There aren't enough ambulances to carry the casualties, who arrive in cars - and taxis, too. The beds are all busy at Al-Shifa Hospital; the courtyard's a crowded waiting room; the morgue is full, Roth reports.

The hospital's general manager, Hassan Khalaf, insists the majority of patients by far are civilians. CBS News reached him by cell phone.

"The latest figure is, the total killed people is 543 at the moment, and well, about 30 percent of them are woman and children," he said. "As regards injured there are 2,600 and 42 percent of them are women and children."

Eleven-year-old Lama Aliewa was brought in this afternoon. Her home was hit by an Israeli bomb. Her mother and four siblings were killed.

Her doctor is Norwegian. Mads Gilbert came to Gaza last week to help out, he says, in a hospital that's short of everything but misery.

"They have no spare parts, they have no monitors. They have not enough blood pressure machines, they don't have enough trolleys. They lack everything. And on top of this you have this huge disaster," he said.

The word "Shifa" means "healing." But Gilbert says Shifa Hospital is struggling to live up to its name.

"More people will die who could have been saved," he said. "We have to be even harder to select who we can treat and we have to put aside people who could otherwise die. That is the gruesome fact of the situation and we are not talking about the 17th century, we are talking about 2009."

World Watch Blog: Israel "Not Close" To Achieving Objectives, Analyst Says
One other note: A senior Israeli intelligence official says Shifa Hospital isn't just a refuge for the sick and wounded. He claims it's also being used as a hideout for some leaders of Hamas. Hospital officials vehemently deny that.

© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment
by rusure5 January 9, 2009 1:43 AM EST
Re: "Eleven-year-old Lama Aliewa was brought in this afternoon. Her home was hit by an Israeli bomb. Her mother and four siblings were killed."

The depravity of the Israelis is truly bizarre.
Reply to this comment
by moas777 January 7, 2009 2:23 AM EST
THIS PAST WEEK HAS SHOWN ME AND THE WORLD WHAT KILLERS AND TERRORIST''S THESE INNOCENT OPPRESSED ISRALIES TRULY ARE?? THEY PREACH TO THE WORLD ABOUT TOLRENCE FOR THE JEWS AND REMINDING US ALL THE TIME WHAT HITLER DID TO THEM BUT WHEN THEY FIND A WEAK ENEMY, THEY SHOW NO MERCY. I PREY TO GOD THAT EVERY FAMILY (PRO WAR) IN ISRAEL EXPERIENCE THE SAME LOSS AS THESE POOR *** HAVE. NO WONDER GOD NOT ACCEPTED SHARON''S SOUL AS OF YET, HE''S NOT EVEN WELCOMED IN HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply to this comment
by koalabeer1 January 5, 2009 11:49 PM EST
Bushit And Darth''s last monstrosity. We hope the last anyway. The Israelis had to act now because they will find support for such actions harder to come by with Obama in the White House. And before anybody starts I''m pro-Israel. One can be a partisan and still recognise a terrible tragedy unfolding though.
Reply to this comment
by rusure5 January 5, 2009 11:13 PM EST
Re: "Anyone stupid enough to think that I was being ''anything but facetious'' is truly stupid.

Posted by ToolMangler

Anyone that would comment on an article about the murderous rampage of the Zionist Israelis, with a mocking suggestion about the Muslims being a "religion of peace", must have *** in their head where their brain should be, and/or must be a Zionist.
Reply to this comment
by toolmangler-2009 January 5, 2009 11:07 PM EST
Anyone stupid enough to think that any religion has anything to do with peace is clearly too misinformed to add anything of value to the discussion.
Posted by rusure5 at 07:57 PM : Jan 05, 2009




Anyone stupid enough to think that I was being ''anything but facetious'' is truly stupid.
Reply to this comment
by rusure5 January 5, 2009 10:57 PM EST
Re: "Everybody knows that Islam is a religion of "peace"

Posted by ToolMangler


Anyone stupid enough to think that any religion has anything to do with peace is clearly too misinformed to add anything of value to the discussion.
Reply to this comment
by toolmangler-2009 January 5, 2009 10:36 PM EST
What a contemptible bunch.

Posted by rusure5 at 07:17 PM : Jan 05, 2009




Yes, they should accept all incoming rockets with glee and thanksgiving, Everybody knows that Islam is a religion of ''peace''
Reply to this comment
by rusure5 January 5, 2009 10:17 PM EST
Re: "Tending To Hundreds Of Civilians"

Pretty hard for Palestinian doctors to keep up, when the Israelis are intentionally bombing civilians, ambulances, etc. and are maintaining their illegal blockade against the people of Gaza, denying even basic medical supplies.

The Israeli Zionists have truly become their own worst oppressors, enslaved by the Nazi trapped within their own heads, guiding their every action, and cheering on their crimes and atrocities.

What a contemptible bunch.
Reply to this comment
  • MOST POPULAR
Discussed
  1. Sarah Palin's Book: The Fact Check

    (333 recent comments)

Exclusive Webshow

Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie." Watch Now

Latest News
News in Pictures
Scroll Left Scroll Right
Connect with CBS News

Stay connected with the CBS News using your favorite social networks and online news applications: