'People are terrified' - Gaza's main hospital near to collapse

At Gaza City's al-Shifa hospital, the living sleep between beds filled with patients, in corridors, and even in the grounds, while the dead overflow the morgue.

- Ruth Michaelson

Tens of thousands have sought not just healing but shelter from the bombardments that rained down on Gaza City every hour, praying the hospital might provide some protection. Blankets have been hung from the entrance courtyard's handrails to provide shade, while some people have gathered around the stairwells with their children and all that remains of their belongings.

Al-Shifa is not just Gaza's largest medical facility, but the nerve centre of its entire healthcare system, and the Israeli assault on the territory has brought it to breaking point. Local authorities and aid groups in Gaza estimate that between 35,000 and 40,000 people are sheltering there.

"The doctors have brought their families into the hospital for safety. I slept on an operating room table last night," said Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah, one of the surgeons, speaking to the Guardian by phone. "People are absolutely terrified, and so they think this is the safest place. Everything around them confirms that this is the safest place."

He said the numbers seeking shelter presented a risk as thousands were seeking food and water where there is none. "The crowding is going to lead to an infectious disease outbreak. There is an impending public health catastrophe at al-Shifa hospital," he said.