Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza on Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified across the Strip.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the pre-dawn strike hit the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City after Israel issued an evacuation warning. At least one patient died during the evacuation as staff couldn’t provide urgent care.
The incident left the hospital unable to provide health care to Palestinians amid catastrophic conditions in Gaza.
Israel said it struck a Hamas command centre in the hospital. It also claimed that prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate harm.
The attack comes against the backdrop of a near-complete collapse of the health system in Gaza. The Strip faces a severe shortage of medicine and medical equipment as a result of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
Hours after the attack on the hospital, a separate strike in Deir al-Balah killed at least seven people, according to a local morgue.
These strikes came hours after the Israeli defence minister said military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would need to evacuate from “fighting zones.”
Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.
The war in Gaza started after Hamas fighters carried out an attack on southern Israel on 7 October, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
251 hostages were taken, most of whom have since been released as part of negotiations between the two parties. 59 hostages remain, 24 of which are believed to still be alive.
Reciprocal accusations and calls for investigation
Hamas described the Israeli targeting of the hospital as a “new war crime” and said it was part of a series of attacks targeting the health infrastructure in Gaza.
They held the US administration fully responsible for these violations and accused Washington of providing “political cover” for Israel by blocking international accountability mechanisms.
Israel has claimed that Hamas is using civilian facilities, including hospitals, for military purposes. The militant group denies this.
