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An Israeli military attack on a hospital in Gaza has knocked out the last major health facility in the north of the besieged strip, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to the United Nations health agency.
The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital came as Israel stepped up an offensive in northern Gaza that began in October, killing hundreds of people and forcing tens of thousands to flee.
The Israeli military said it is fighting to prevent Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza, where most 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 suggested that key sections of the medical facility were badly burned and destroyed in Friday’s raid.
It said 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, remained in 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 medical care,” the WHO said in a statement late Friday. “This horror must end and healthcare must be protected.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Kamal Adwan’s operational and surgical departments, laboratory, maintenance, ambulance units and warehouses were “totally burned down.”
“The occupying army is violently transferring the sick and injured at gunpoint. . . to the Indonesian hospital, which lacks medical supplies, water, medicine and even electricity and generators,” it said in a statement. “There are patients who are at risk of death at any time due to the harsh conditions.”
The Israeli military said it had begun operations “in the area” of Kamal Adwan after it emerged that Hamas militants were using the hospital.
It added that its troops “conducted targeted operations in the region while limiting damage to innocent civilians, patients and medical personnel.” It was said that the emergency services were not responsible for the fire in the hospital.
Hamas denied that its fighters were using the hospital for military activities.
U.N. agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly condemned Israel for attacks on medical facilities in Gaza since it launched its offensive against Hamas after the Palestinian group’s attack killed 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023.
The WHO said it had confirmed 516 attacks on health facilities and medical transport in Gaza, adding that more than 90 percent of medical facilities in Gaza were either damaged or destroyed.
The Israeli offensive in the northern Gaza Strip continues as mediators push for an agreement to end the war and release the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month.
The operation has reduced Jabalia, which was the largest refugee camp in Gaza before the war and was home to more than 100,000 people, to rubble and spread to neighboring Beit Lahia, where the Kamal Adwan Hospital is located.
On Saturday, the Israeli military said its forces had begun operations in the Beit Hanoun district.
Palestinian health officials say the Israeli offensive has killed more than 45,000 people and forced the vast majority of the Strip’s 2.3 million residents from their homes.
