Israeli raid destroys the last hospital in northern Gaza
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An Israeli military raid on a hospital in Gaza has shut down the last major medical facility in the north of the besieged strip, according to the United Nations health agency, exacerbating the war. The humanitarian crisis is increasingly deepening in this land.
The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital came as Israel stepped up its offensive in northern Gaza that began in October and killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.
The Israeli military says it is fighting to prevent Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza, where much of the population has been forced to flee during Israel’s 14-month offensive against the Palestinian militant group.
The World Health Organization said initial reports indicated that key departments of the medical facility were burned and severely damaged in Friday’s raid.
They said 60 medical staff and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, remained at the hospital, while others were forced to evacuate to another damaged hospital. .
“The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care,” the WHO said in a statement late Friday. “This horror must end and health care must be protected.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Kamal Adwan’s surgical and surgical departments, laboratories, maintenance, ambulances and warehouses were “completely burned”.
“The occupying army is forcibly removing the sick and wounded at gunpoint. . . to Indonesian hospitals, which lack medical supplies, water, medicine and even electricity and generators,” the organization said in a statement. “There are patients who are threatened with death at any time due to the harsh conditions.”
The Israeli military said it began operations “in the area” of Kamal Adwan after receiving intelligence that Hamas militants were using the hospital.
It added that its military was “conducting targeted operations in the area while minimizing damage to civilians, patients and unrelated medical personnel.” They said their force was not responsible for the fire at the hospital.
Hamas denies that its fighters use the hospital for military operations.
United Nations agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly condemned Israel for attacking medical facilities in Gaza since it launched an offensive against Hamas following the October 7, 2023 attack. of the Palestinian group, killing 1,200 people.
WHO said it had verified 516 attacks on medical facilities and medical transport in Gaza, and said more than 90% of medical facilities in the strip had been damaged or destroyed.
Israel’s offensive in northern Gaza continues as mediators push for a deal to end the war and ensure the release of remaining Israeli hostages held in the strip before US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month.
The operation reduced Jabalia, which before the war was the largest refugee camp in Gaza and home to more than 100,000 people, to rubble and expanded into neighboring Beit Lahia, where Kamal Adwan Hospital is located. .
On Saturday, the Israeli army said its forces had begun operations in the Beit Hanoun district.
According to Palestinian health officials, the Israeli attack killed more than 45,000 people and forced the vast majority of the strip’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.
