The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed last month, and the dead and wounded again pour into the hospital. The injured are triaged at a tent in the hospital’s courtyard, set up to relieve the pressure on the packed emergency room inside.
When people arrive, medical workers sort them into three categories: green, yellow and red. Those classified green are given basic treatment, like bandages, and are sent on their way. Yellow means treatment is required in the hospital. Red indicates an urgent case that requires immediate care, possibly surgery.
But nurses and doctors can only do so much. There is still a severe shortage of medical supplies and equipment — one of Gaza’s two CT scanners broke down there on Thursday — and many of the injured require extensive treatment.
Children are especially vulnerable to the injuries that can be caused by explosions in Gaza’s dense living conditions, experts say. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which began after Hamas led the October 2023 attack that started the war, has packed even more people into close quarters around the territory as it has displaced people from neighborhoods and towns.
Many have fled to crowded encampments in the south or to schools converted into shelters, like the one hit in Gaza City on Thursday. At least 27 people were killed in the strike, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its casualty figures. Israel, as well as Palestinian civilians, have accused Hamas of embedding its forces in civilian spaces, including shelters and hospitals.
Videos verified by The New York Times showed an explosion and its aftermath at the shelter, the Dar al-Arqam school in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. The videos showed people carrying victims, children among them, as fires burned in the background.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that it was looking into reports about the strike. As of Friday morning, it said it still could not comment.