Al-Shifa under siege: Afternoon update

Israeli forces have placed Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, under siege for more than 17 hours and counting. 

No one is allowed in or out, and there's no electricity, internet, or water. The siege is enforced as Israeli fighter jets and tanks shell areas near the hospital, while armed drones target anyone who attempts to move around in its vicinity. 

Israeli ground forces have not reached the hospitals yet, as fierce street battles between troops and Palestinian fighters unfold some hundreds of meters away. 

Under these conditions, the hospital has collapsed, leaving 15,000 people inside at risk of death, doctors warn. 

Here's some of the latest updates from Al-Shifa:

• Palestinian health officials say at least six patients on life support have died since the siege started, including one baby. Their deaths were the result of ventilators and infant incubators failing to work due to lack of electricity

• Dozens of dead bodies, including those killed on Friday, lie in the hospital's yard with no means of burying them. Palestinian health officials say armed Israeli drones targeted them when they attempted to dig graves for the dead

• Doctors say they have no idea what is going on outside the hospital but continue to hear heavy bombing and shelling nearby

• Many journalists left Al-Shifa on Friday after it was bombed, making it difficult to obtain news from within the hospital

• Ambulances have not been allowed to leave the hospital. Health officials say they contacted the International Red Cross to provide them safe passage, who in turn informed the hospital directors that the Israeli military is refusing to cooperate. Middle East Eye could not independently verify the claim

• Al-Shifa Hospital is where the health ministry officials coordinate their work, assign operations across Gaza's hospitals, and provide daily briefs to the media. Health officials say they can no longer provide any of these services due to electricity and internet outages, which could mean the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip

•  The health ministry is also unable to provide updates on the Palestinian death toll from Israeli air strikes.