| Al-Shifa Hospital | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gaza, Palestinian territories |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, ophthalmology, obstetrics, gynecology |
| Hospital type | Treatment |
| History | |
| Founded | 1920s |
| Links | |
| Lists | |
Al-Shifa Hospital (Arabic: مستشفى الشفاء Mustashfa al-Shifa) is the largest medical complex and central hospital of Gaza, located in the district of North Rimal.[1] The current director of the hospital is Khaled Hassan.[2]
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Al-Shifa, which means "healing" in Arabic, was originally a British Army barracks, but was transformed into a center to provide treatment for quarantine and febrile diseases by the government of the British Mandate of Palestine. Prior to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, al-Shifa was the only hospital in Gaza. When the Egyptians administered the Gaza Strip after the war, the quarantine and febrile diseases department was relocated to another area in the city and al-Shifa developed into the central hospital of Gaza. Initially, a department for internal medicine was established, followed by a new wing for surgery, and subsequently new buildings for pediatrics and ophthalmology were added to the hospital.[3]
After a brief occupation by Israel during the 1956 Suez Crisis, the returning Egyptian administration, under directives by president Gamal Abdel Nasser, paid more attention to the health and social situation of Gaza, and al-Shifa was expanded to include departments for obstetrics and gynecology. They established a new health administration for the Gaza region, later building several clinics throughout the city that were attended by doctors from the hospital.[4] The largest department in al-Shifa was internal medicine (100 beds), then pediatrics (70 beds), surgery (50 beds), ophthalmology (20 beds) and gynecology (10 beds).[5]
When Israel reoccupied Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War, the entire Egyptian administration and staff in the hospital were taken prisoner.[6] By 1969, the internal medicines department grew to contain several sub-departments.[7] The hospital underwent a major Israeli renovation in the 1980s as part of a showcase project to improve the living conditions of Gaza residents.[8]
Much of the media coverage of the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict was broadcast or written by correspondents reporting from the hospital.[9] According to Israeli claims, the Hamas leadership sheltered in a bunker underneath the hospital during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.[8] During the fighting, Hamas held meetings inside the hospital and distributed the payroll from the hospital. Israeli authorities stated their reluctance to bomb a hospital, despite their claim that it was being used as Hamas headquarters.[10]
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