Thousands Flee Gaza’s Hospital But Others Are Trapped

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of people have fled Gaza’s largest hospital as Israeli forces and Palestinian militants battle outside its gates. But hundreds of patients, including dozens of babies at risk of dying because of a lack of electricity, remained inside on Monday. The head of the World Health Organization says Shifa has been without water for three days and “is not functioning as a hospital anymore.” Both sides have seized on the hospital’s plight as a symbol of the larger war, now in its sixth week. For Palestinians, it evokes the suffering of civilians under Israeli bombardment in a besieged enclave. Israel claims, without providing evidence, that Hamas has a command center in and beneath the medical compound, allegations denied by Hamas and hospital staff.