Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 72 people since Thursday night and Israeli forces launched a night-time raid on a hospital in the north of the enclave, Palestinian officials said.
The Israeli military said its forces had killed a number of Palestinian gunmen in air and ground strikes in the southern Gaza Strip and dismantled military infrastructure.
In northern Gaza, where an area around the town of Jabalia has been the target of a weeks-long offensive, health officials said Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities struggling to operate there, and stationed forces outside it.
“The terrorising of civilians, the injured and children began as they (the Israeli army) started opening fire on the hospital,” Eid Sabbah, the hospital’s director of nursing, said in a voice note to Reuters.
When the army retreated, a delegation from the World Health Organisation arrived with an ambulance and evacuated some patients. The WHO confirmed it had transferred 49 patients and caregivers to the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
After the partial evacuation, Israeli tanks returned and opened fire on the hospital, striking its oxygen stores, before raiding the building and ordering staff and patients to leave, the nursing director Sabbah said.
The Israeli military said it was operating in the area of Kamal Adwan Hospital based on intelligence “regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” there.
Medics at three hospitals have refused Israeli orders to evacuate and leave patients unattended. They said at least 800 Palestinians had been killed in northern Gaza since the army began the new offensive three weeks ago.
Israel says its forces returned to northern Gaza to root out Hamas fighters who have regrouped there. The Israeli military said on Friday that three of its soldiers were killed in combat in the north of the Gaza Strip.
The escalation came as the United States renewed its push for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
U.S. and Israeli negotiators will gather in Doha in the coming days to try to restart talks, officials said on Thursday. Israel is also fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
REUTERS
