Israeli forces have pulled back from a hospital complex in northern Gaza, just one day after they had launched an operation there. According to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA, at least 30 individuals perished in Israeli airstrikes on residential buildings in Beit Lahiya, a town in northern Gaza.
The health ministry in Gaza reported that Israeli troops apprehended numerous male medical personnel and a number of patients during their incursion into the hospital.
Authorities indicated that Israeli forces had stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical centers barely managing to function under dire conditions in the region.
Video footage released by the health ministry revealed substantial damage to multiple structures following the recent withdrawal of Israeli forces.
After the chaotic raid, it was reported that the army had released 14 individuals, including the hospital’s director. An Israeli military spokesperson refrained from addressing the specifics of the hospital incident.
On the previous day, Gaza’s health ministry accused Israeli forces of invading Kamal Adwan Hospital located in Jabalia camp, where a substantial military operation had commenced earlier this month.
The Israeli military contended that their actions around the hospital stemmed from intelligence suggesting the presence of “terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” in the vicinity.
Tragically, medics reported that at least two children lost their lives in the intensive care unit due to Israeli shelling, which struck critical generators and oxygen supplies at the facility.
Amid the chaos, medical staff stood firm against Israeli military orders, insisting on remaining at the hospital to care for their patients.
Prior to the army’s incursion, medical staff estimated that some 600 individuals, including patients and their caregivers, were present in the hospital.
Marwan Al-Hams, a representative from the health ministry, voiced grave concerns: “The safety and lives of patients left inside Kamal Adwan Hospital without essential medical staff and supplies are in jeopardy right now.”
The Gaza health ministry further stated that Israeli assaults on Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya had claimed around 800 lives during a three-week offensive.
In response, Israel maintains its military efforts in northern Gaza aim to dismantle Hamas fighters who they claim have regrouped in the area. Recent reports from the Israeli military confirmed that three of their soldiers lost their lives during confrontations in northern Gaza.
Images captured at Kamal Adwan Hospital depict the devastation inflicted on an ambulance parked within its compound.
WHO Urges Protection for Hospitals
Earlier, the head of the World Health Organization emphasized the dire circumstances unfolding in war-torn northern Gaza, highlighting “intensive military operations adjacent to and involving healthcare facilities.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared, “The situation in northern Gaza is catastrophic.” He warned that “critical shortages of medical supplies, exacerbated by severely restricted access, are depriving individuals of life-saving care.”
He specifically referred to the alarming conditions at Kamal Adwan, identified as the last operational hospital in northern Gaza, which was recently invaded by Israeli troops, as per reports from the health ministry.
The ministry accused the Israeli forces of causing the death of two children during their raid in Jabalia camp, and further alleged that hundreds of staff, patients, and displaced persons were detained.
The Israeli military maintained that their operations around Kamal Adwan were justified but asserted they were “unaware of live fire and strikes in the hospital area.”
Dr. Tedros relayed that the Gaza health ministry had contacted the WHO, confirming that communication had momentarily been lost with their personnel at the hospital amid the turmoil, but they reported that the siege had concluded.
“However,” he stated, “it came at an enormous cost.”
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
