Reuters: CAIRO One day after storming a hospital complex in northern Gaza, Israeli forces withdrew on Saturday. The health ministry of the Palestinian enclave stated that the troops had detained dozens of male medical staff members and some of the patients.
On Friday, health officials reported that Israeli forces had also stationed forces outside Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three struggling medical facilities in the area.
After the Israeli forces withdrew, footage circulated by the health ministry, which Reuters was unable to immediately verify, showed damage to several buildings.
According to medical professionals, the army had detained at least 44 of the hospital’s 70 employees. It later stated that the army had released fourteen of them, including the director of the hospital.
Regarding the hospital report, a spokesperson for the Israeli military declined to comment. The Israeli military claimed on Friday that it conducted its operations in the vicinity of the hospital on the basis of information “regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure” there.
Israeli fire on Friday destroyed the oxygen station and generators in the intensive care unit, killing at least two children, according to medical professionals.
The Israeli army has told the medical staff not to evacuate the hospital or leave their patients unattended. According to medical professionals, the hospital housed at least 600 individuals prior to the army raid, including patients and escorts.
Marwan Al-Hams of the health ministry stated, “The safety and lives of patients who are left inside Kamal Adwan Hospital without medical staff and much needed medication are at risk now.”
According to the ministry, the raid resulted in the injuries of three nurses and the destruction of three ambulances.
MILITARY STRIKES During a three-week offensive, Israeli military strikes on the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have killed approximately 800 people, according to the Gaza ministry.
Israel claims that its forces returned to the northern Gaza Strip to eliminate Hamas militants who had gathered there. On Friday, the Israeli military reported that three of its soldiers had been killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip.
Basem Naim, a senior official with Hamas, stated that Israel’s incursions into northern Gaza and assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital were violations of international humanitarian law that Israel could not have committed without “the protection of Western countries.”
Hamas is frequently accused by Israel of using civilians and property, such as hospitals and mosques, for military gain. The allegation is refuted by Hamas.
The humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, where the army has previously instructed Palestinians to go when forced to evacuate their homes, was said to have been expanded by the Israeli military on Saturday.
Separately, a Hamas member was killed by Israeli forces on Saturday during a raid in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, according to a statement from the Israeli security force. It claimed that the man had been preparing for an impending attack.
Islam Jamil Awda, 29, was the name given to the deceased by the Palestinian Health Ministry. Hamas said in a statement that Awda had died “clashing with the occupation forces who besieged him for hours in a house in Tulkarm camp,” and that he had died there.
Since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, violence has increased throughout the West Bank. Conflicts with Israeli forces have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths, and civilian bystanders.
Over the past year, Palestinian street attacks have also resulted in the deaths of dozens of Israelis.
According to Israeli statistics, Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people and transporting approximately 250 hostages to Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed close to 43,000 people and destroyed the densely populated enclave.
