MOSCOW, Nov 24 There are no armed men hiding in hospitals in the Gaza Strip people, there are civilians, personnel and civilian equipment there, said doctor Sakir Samir, who worked in the enclave’s hospitals for 13 years.
The medic arrived at Domodedovo airport from Cairo on the next evacuation flight of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations.
«No (armed people in hospitals — ed.). So they went to the Al-Shifa hospital, did they find anything?» — said the doctor.
According to him, he works in the Gaza Strip as an otolaryngologist in several hospitals, including Al-Auda, which has been subjected to Israeli artillery and rocket attacks since the beginning of the escalation of the conflict.
«I have been in Gaza for 13 years. I (worked) at Al-Auda… every day, no electricity, no fuel, no solar energy, operations are done without anesthesia,» he said.
A special flight with the seventh group of 103 Russians and their families from the Gaza Strip landed at Domodedovo airport at 0.38 Moscow time, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry told the agency.
Previously, two more groups of Russian citizens and members living in the Gaza Strip were delivered by special aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations to Domodedovo from Egypt.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were able to enter the Al-Shifa medical center in Gaza. The IDF later announced the discovery of a command center for the Palestinian Hamas movement and its infrastructure and weapons on the hospital grounds. However, the hospital's chief doctor denied the Israeli military's claims that Hamas militants were among the patients and those who had found shelter on the hospital grounds. The official representative of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, said that the UN is concerned about what is happening at the Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, and medical institutions should be protected by humanitarian law.
Later, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that the head of Al-Shifa Hospital was detained due to evidence discovered that the hospital was being used as a command post for the Palestinian Hamas movement.
WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the hospital can no longer function, and the remaining patients in it need to be evacuated.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
The ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began at the end of October. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The death toll in Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip exceeded 14.8 thousand people, more than 36 thousand people were injured. The Russian Embassy reported that during the escalation of the conflict, 20 Russians were killed, two were taken hostage, and seven were listed as missing. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas. The movement itself stated that there are about 200-250 prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.