Cairo (Reuters) – Israel has ordered the closure and evacuation of one of the last hospitals still partly functioning in the Gaza Strip, prompting medics to search for a way to evacuate hundreds of patients and staff to safety.
The hospital, Kamal Adwan in Beit Lahiya, is home to nearly 400 civilians, including babies in the neonatal unit, who are dependent on oxygen and incubators. Medics said it would be “next to impossible” to evacuate these patients without assistance, equipment, and time.
Israel’s military said it had sent fuel and food to the hospital and helped evacuate over 100 patients and caregivers to other Gaza hospitals earlier this week. However, the hospital’s head, Husam Abu Safiya, disagreed, claiming the military ordered patients to be taken to another hospital where conditions are worse.
ק continued strike
The hospital is one of the few still partially functioning in the once crowded northern edge of Gaza, an area under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months. Israel claims its operation is targeting Hamas militants, while Palestinians believe it is attempting to depopulate the area to create a buffer zone.
Fighting has been intense in the region, with Hamas releasing a video showing its fighters in botched buildings and piles of wreckage, clad in civilian clothing and firing at Israeli forces. The Israeli military reported strikes on Hamas militants and infrastructure, while Hamas claimed it had caused casualties among Israeli soldiers.
The conflict has resulted in heavy casualties, with at least 29 Palestinians killed, including eight children, in one airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families. Two children were killed in another strike in southern Gaza, bringing the total death toll to at least 31.
Mediators have been working to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, as efforts to negotiate a truce have been frozen for months. Israel began its assault in Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage.