GAZA: An Israeli air strike early on Sunday heavily damaged one of the few functioning hospitals in Gaza, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted a Hamas "command and control centre" operating within the facility. Since the outbreak of war, tens of thousands of Gazans have sought refuge in hospitals, many of which have suffered severe damage in the ongoing hostilities. The strike on Al Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza — also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab Hospital — caused no casualties, but came a day after Israeli forces seized a key corridor in the territory and signalled plans to expand their campaign. It also came as aid agencies and the United Nations warned that medicines and related supplies were rapidly running out in Gaza as casualties surged. "The bombing led to the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units," Gaza's civil defence rescue agency said.
The strike came "minutes after the (Israeli) army's warning to evacuate this building of patients, the injured and their companions", the agency said. Photographs showed massive slabs of concrete and twisted metal scattered across the site after the strike. The blast left a gaping hole in one of the hospital's buildings, with iron doors torn from their hinges.
Onlookers sifted through the rubble, while some retrieved equipment from a media van also damaged in the strike. Iraq's Aletejah TV said one of its live broadcast vehicles was hit by the strike. A separate air strike on Sunday on a vehicle in the central city of Deir Al Balah killed seven people including six brothers, the civil defence agency said. Mahmud Abu Amsha, who witnessed the strike, said those killed were distributing aid. "They do not care about children or people being killed... This aid was being provided to the displaced people," Abu Amsha said.
Israel has extended its offensive across much of Gaza. On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the military planned to expand its offensive as it completed the takeover of the "Morag axis" between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis. The corridor is part of what he called "the Israeli security zone".
Patients, relatives and medical personnel evacuated the Al Ahli Hospital in haste following the military's warning. Many found themselves stranded in the surrounding streets.
Naela Imad, 42, had been sheltering at the hospital but had to rush out of the complex.
The Israeli military asserted that Hamas fighters were operating from inside the hospital compound. Security forces "struck a command and control centre used by Hamas in the Al Ahli Hospital" for planning and executing attacks, the military said. Hamas condemned what it described as a "savage crime" committed by Israel "with blatant US cover and complicity". Qatar, which helped mediate a fragile ceasefire between the warring parties that fell apart last month, also denounced the strike, calling it "a heinous crime against unarmed civilians".
Hospitals, protected under international humanitarian law, have repeatedly been hit by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian groups on October 7, 2023. Al Ahli was heavily damaged by an explosion in its car park on October 17, 2023, leaving multiple fatalities. Aid agencies and the UN say that only a few of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially functional.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy on Sunday urged Israel to stop carrying out "deplorable attacks" on hospitals in Gaza after an Israeli strike on one of the territory's few functioning hospitals. "Al Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began," Lammy posted on X. "These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy not more bloodshed is how we will achieve a lasting peace."
Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Sunday that a medic who had been missing since an Israeli attack on ambulances in Gaza last month is currently being held by Israeli authorities. "Asaad al Nsasrah is being held by the Israeli occupation authorities. His fate had remained unknown since he was targeted along with other PRCS medics in Rafah," PRCS said in a statement, referring to the attack that left 15 medics and rescuers dead. — AFP
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