Bodies pile up as Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital becomes a no-go zone

Corpses of Palestinians are piling up inside al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City with doctors electing to keep the bodies of the dead in its courtyard as anyone trying to bury them risks being shot by the Israeli army.

Eyewitnesses at the site painted an apocalyptic scene at the besieged Palestinian territory’s largest medical facility, which is besieged by Israeli forces who are not allowing anyone to move in or out of its buildings.

Palestinians say Israeli tanks, warplanes and snipers encircling the hospital have adopted a “shoot to kill” policy, which does not discriminate between medics, wounded Palestinians and those seeking refuge within the hospital's walls.

“Stray dogs and other animals bite at and eat the bodies,” Mustafa Sarsour, one of the last remaining journalists at al-Shifa, told Middle East Eye. 

“We watch them eat but no one can move because Israeli snipers and quadcopters shoot at anyone who walks out of the hospital’s buildings.”

Read MEE reporter Maha Hussaini's full report from the besieged Gaza Strip below: 

Bodies pile up as Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital becomes a no-go zone