Israel has mandated the closure and evacuation of one of the few remaining hospitals still operating in a besieged region of northern Gaza, compelling medical staff to seek ways to transport hundreds of patients and personnel to safety.
The director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, communicated via text message that complying with the directive to shut down was “nearly impossible” due to a lack of ambulances to evacuate patients.
“Currently, we have close to 400 civilians within the hospital, including infants in the neonatal unit, whose survival hinges on oxygen and incubators,” he stated.
“We cannot safely evacuate these patients without assistance, proper equipment, and sufficient time.”
The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment regarding Mr. Abu Safiya’s statements.
It announced that on Friday, it provided fuel and food to the hospital and facilitated the evacuation of over 100 patients and caregivers to other hospitals in Gaza, some of which were coordinated with the Red Cross, for their safety.
Mr. Abu Safiya indicated that the military had instructed patients and staff to relocate to another hospital where conditions are even more dire.
Images from within the hospital depicted patients on beds crowded into hallways to shelter them from windows.
Reuters was unable to immediately authenticate those images.
Israel asserts that its operations surrounding three communities on the northern fringe of the Gaza Strip—Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia—are aimed at Hamas militants.
Palestinians accuse Israel of attempting to permanently depopulate the area to establish a buffer zone, a claim Israel refutes.
Israeli airstrikes have reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 35 individuals, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency.
Israel’s actions during the ongoing war, initiated by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, have drawn increasing scrutiny, including from human rights organizations that accuse it of “acts of genocide,” a charge the Israeli government firmly denies.
Pope Francis has condemned the “cruelty” of Israel’s airstrikes, emphasizing the fatalities of children and assaults on educational institutions and healthcare facilities in Gaza for the second consecutive day; Israel has accused the pontiff of exhibiting “double standards.”
On the ground in Gaza, civil defense spokesperson Mahmud Bassal reported that at least 13 individuals were killed in an airstrike on a residence in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, belonging to the Abu Samra family.
Residents rummaged through the rubble for survivors and salvaged belongings.
At least 13 individuals were killed in an airstrike on a residence in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah.
In a nearby courtyard, bodies covered with blankets lay on the ground.
“We are… losing loved ones every day,” expressed Deir el-Balah resident Naim al-Ramlawi.
“I pray to God that a truce will be reached soon,” and that it would permit Gazans to finally “live a decent life instead of this miserable existence,” he continued.
The Israeli military refrained from commenting but confirmed a separate strike further north on a school in Gaza City.
Mr. Bassal stated that eight individuals, four of whom were children, lost their lives in the assault on the school, which had been repurposed as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by the conflict.
The Israeli military described it as a “precise strike” conducted overnight targeting a Hamas “command and control center” located within the school compound in the eastern part of the city.
Israeli airstrikes overnight also killed three people in Rafah, located in the south, according to Mr. Bassal.
A prior drone attack targeted a vehicle in Gaza City, resulting in four fatalities, the spokesperson mentioned.
An Israeli security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the vehicle strike.
A military spokesperson stated that the army could not comment on the other strikes reported by the civil defense agency.
A civilian vehicle affected by Israeli bombardment along Jalaa Street in central Gaza City.
The unprecedented attack by Hamas last year that ignited the conflict led to the deaths of 1,208 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians, based on an AFP tally drawn from official Israeli statistics.
Militants also captured 251 hostages, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 that the Israeli military claims are deceased.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has claimed at least 45,259 lives, predominantly civilians, according to numbers from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the United Nations regards as credible.
Ceasefire negotiations
Recently, Hamas and two other Palestinian armed groups issued a rare joint statement indicating that an agreement to halt the violence was “closer than ever.”
The organizations, which include Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, suggested that a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release agreement may be attainable, contingent on Israel not imposing additional conditions in the negotiations.
Negotiations have encountered numerous obstacles since a one-week truce in November 2023, with the main point of contention being the establishment of a lasting ceasefire.
Israeli leaders have reiterated their opposition to a full military withdrawal from Gaza. Another unresolved matter pertains to the post-war governance of the territory.
Indirect discussions between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States, took place recently in Doha, rekindling hopes for a potential breakthrough after a prolonged standstill.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed optimism regarding a deal but refrained from making any predictions concerning its timeline for fruition.
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