War crimes as never seen before in AJ’s Al-Shifa Hospital...

Al Jazeera Media Network presented the premiere of "Al-Shifa Hospital: The Crimes They Tried to Bury", at Vox Cinemas, Oasis-Msheireb, Doha to a packed audience on Wednesday.Among the viewers were dignitaries, diplomats, officials, journalists, social media influencers and nine doctors who were evacuated from Al Shifa Hospital.Produced by "Al Jazeera 360", the 44-minute film is a compelling documentary that investigates Israeli crimes within Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip, from March 18 to April 1, 2024.The film provides a harrowing account of the incidents that took place during the Israeli aggression on Gaza, shedding light on the struggles faced by medical personnel and patients amidst the chaos.Through in-depth interviews, first-hand testimonies, and chilling footage, the documentary uncovers the extent of the violence that breached the sanctity of a healthcare facility. It presents evidence of direct attacks on hospital premises, disruptions to medical services, and the dire consequences for the innocent civilians seeking refuge and treatment within its walls.The documentary serves as a stark reminder of the humanitarian laws designed to protect medical institutions and the severe repercussions when these laws are violated. Al-Shifa Hospital, a symbol of hope and healing, is depicted as a frontline witness to the brutality of war, raising critical questions about the protection of civilians in conflict zones. Al Jazeera's investigative journalism in this film aims to hold perpetrators accountable and bring international attention to the plight of those affected. The film's detailed and empathetic portrayal of the events at Al-Shifa Hospital calls for urgent action and underscores the necessity of safeguarding medical facilities in times of conflict.The film extensively documents testimonials exclusively from survivors who witnessed acts of killing, torture, starvation, and incarceration, vividly depicting the horrors they experienced.It highlights how medical personnel and local people were ordered to bury victims in mass graves on hospital grounds. Later, the occupation forces desecrated these graves with bulldozers, crushing the corpses within, just as they had done with the victims scattered on the streets.The film documents interviews with witnesses in the immediate aftermath of the siege. The film’s producers gathered testimonials from hospital staff, patients and nearby residents who witnessed the 14-day siege of the medical centre and the atrocities committed against the patients and the civilian population, in addition to indiscriminate bombardment and the levelling down of building blocks on their inhabitants in the close vicinity of the hospital.Abdullah Khadra, a resident next to Al-Shifaa Hospital and who has been evacuated to Qatar, attended the film and said: "Since the attacks in 2008, 2014, 2016, and in 2024 the enemy was lying about Al Shifaa Hospital being Hamas headquarters, until we saw the reality as shown in the film. Al Shifa represents human memory in Gaza, as it is the place of births and deaths. Targeting it is targeting the Palestinian press narrative.”Noted Gaza journalist Wael al-Dahdouh in a short documentary shown after the film said about the horrors and the atrocities that were perpetrated by the occupation in the medical complex: "This is a drop of blood in an ocean of blood.”On the sidelines of the screening of the film, Gulf Times spoke to the film producer and director, Ubadah al-Baghdadi who said: "The documentary film is based on eyewitness accounts of the recent massacre that took place in Al-Shifa Hospital. It is about some testimonies that document what the Israeli occupation was trying to obscure through the last siege of the Al Shifa Hospital. The heroes of the film are eyewitnesses who were in and around Al Shifaa Hospital, including doctors, nurses."The film is purely humanitarian and does not contain a lot of archives. It was filmed in and around Al Shifaa Hospital. We took the witnesses back to the scene of the events and sought to bring out once again their memories and the moments they lived during that siege. The scenes and events were filmed in the same places where the crimes and horrors took place.”He stated: "As for filming, we found only one camera in northern Gaza, where the hospital is located. There is a major siege in the north. There were difficulties in filming and even in downloading materials and sending them to us. But the crew there are the real heroes who made that film. We shot the film with one camera, and there was even a cut in the lens, and there was no good equipment .”About the difficulties encountered, he said: "Of course, there was difficulty in convincing the eyewitnesses to return to the place where they had painful memories, but this was a point of strength in refreshing their memories and getting their emotional integration again, so this was a strong point of the film.”Jamalulddin El-Shayyal, manager of content strategy, Director of the Al Jazeera 360 platform, spoke to Gulf Times and said: "We took this film as a professional and ethical duty for us on the platform to document what is happening because we see that we are living in a state of war of narratives. The first duty of journalists and media professionals is to convey the truth, despite attempts to conceal it, and not just to obscure the truth, but to change it. We are unfortunately watching a genocidal war live through mobile phones, social media platforms, while the world is just watching. There are some forces that are trying to change what is happening.” He remarked: "We see an extermination or massacre called a rescue operation. We see hospitals targeted as strongholds for militants. For us, Al Shifaa Hospital is not only a symbol of life in the Gaza Strip, but it was of great importance to journalists.”El-Shayyal added: "Over the past 15 years, whenever there has been an Israeli aggression or war against the Gaza Strip, it has always targeted Al Shifaa. As for journalists, they always went there to convey the truth about the suffering of the Palestinian people due to the crimes of the occupation that happened to them. It was sometimes their only shelter in the middle of the Gaza Strip.”Concerning its dissemination, he said: "We translated this film into 7 languages, including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German; of course it is in Arabic and dubbed in English. It will be published on YouTube, on the Al Jazeera 360 YouTube pages, and shorter clips of it on other platforms."Of course, when the Al Jazeera 360 platform will be launched in September 2024, which we hope will overcome the algorithms of existing social media platforms and their concealment of the truth. It will be published on this platform for the Arab viewers, and viewers around the world will have complete freedom to reach the truth.”