Wed Jan 01 15:26:03 UTC 2025: ## Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital: From Healing Haven to Battlefield
**Gaza City, Palestine** – A year after the Israeli offensive, a former nurse at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital recounts the hospital’s devastating transformation from a place of healing to a symbol of destruction and loss. The nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous, describes her work at the hospital, once the largest and most prestigious in the Gaza Strip, as the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
The 2023 offensive, she says, turned the hospital into a scene of unimaginable suffering. Overwhelmed with casualties, the staff worked tirelessly, facing dwindling supplies and the constant threat of violence. The most heartbreaking moment came when a shortage of fuel and oxygen led to the death of eight premature babies.
The hospital itself became a target. Despite its protected status under international law, Israeli soldiers stormed the complex, forcing evacuation and leaving the staff without food or water for days. The nurse recounts harrowing experiences, including witnessing the deaths of patients due to the siege and the subsequent destruction of the hospital.
The nurse’s close friend and colleague, Alaa, perished when an Israeli missile struck her family home while they were retrieving belongings after displacement. The hospital itself was left in ruins, its buildings damaged or burned.
Now living in a tent and working in a makeshift clinic, the nurse expresses profound sadness and uncertainty about the future. Despite the devastation, she holds onto a dream: to witness the restoration of Al-Shifa Hospital to its former glory as a beacon of hope and healing for the people of Gaza. The article concludes with a poignant reflection on the loss of a cherished workplace and the enduring trauma of witnessing its destruction.
First Piper 