Six days after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel ordered the evacuation of 22 hospitals in northern Gaza. In fact, 1.1 million people were ordered to evacuate the entire north of the enclave within 24 hours. But the evacuation of critically ill patients from nearly two dozen hospitals — a total of around 2,000 people, including newborn babies in incubators, patients on hemodialysis and life support — was not possible, certainly not quickly. The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the order, calling it a “death sentence” for the sick and injured. Health care workers made the difficult choice to stay with their patients, even as their families were forcibly displaced to the south.
