The head of the World Health Organization has reported that a child lost their life due to “disruption of care” from Israeli strikes on a hospital in Gaza.
According to medics, two Israeli missiles struck a building within Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, leading to the destruction of the emergency and reception department as well as damage to other structures.
The pre-dawn assault devastated the emergency room and other facilities at the hospital, confirmed the WHO, following an evacuation warning issued by Israel.
One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation as medical staff were unable to provide urgent care, as stated by the WHO, citing the hospital’s director.
He mentioned that the hospital cannot accept new patients until repairs are completed.
“Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks on healthcare must cease,” he emphasized.
“Once again we reiterate: patients, healthcare workers, and hospitals must be safeguarded. The aid blockade should be lifted. We need a ceasefire,” Mr. Tedros stated in a post on X.
The hospital, managed by the Diocese of Jerusalem, condemned the attack in a statement, noting it occurred on “Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Holy Week, the most sacred week of the Christian calendar.”
Health officials at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital evacuated patients from the building after receiving a phone call from someone identifying as Israeli security shortly before the strike.
The Israeli military claimed in a statement it had taken measures to minimize civilian harm prior to striking the compound, which it asserted was being used by Hamas militants for planning attacks.
Hamas condemned what it characterized as a “savage crime” perpetrated by Israel “with blatant U.S. complicity,” dismissing the assertion that the facility had military uses.
A man walks through the rubble in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
The hospital, an institution of the Anglican Church and significant medical facility, has been rendered inoperable, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
“Hundreds of patients and injured individuals had to be evacuated in the middle of the night, and many are now left on the streets without medical care, placing their lives at risk,” stated Khalil Al-Deqran, spokesperson for the ministry.
The strikes coincided with Hamas leaders initiating new talks in Cairo, aiming to salvage a stalled ceasefire agreement with Israel, as Egypt, Qatar, and the United States intensified efforts to reconcile the two sides.
Images displayed considerable devastation within and around the hospital compound’s church.
Patients, relatives, and healthcare personnel evacuated the Al-Ahli hospital hurriedly following the military’s warning.
Many found themselves stranded in the adjacent streets.
Naela Imad, 42, had been sheltering at the hospital but was forced to flee the complex.
“Just as we reached the hospital gate, they bombed it. It was a massive explosion,” she recounted.
“Now, my children and I are on the street. We’ve been displaced more than 20 times. The hospital was our last refuge.”
Qatar, which previously mediated a fragile ceasefire between the opposing forces that collapsed last month, also denounced the strike as “a heinous crime.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin expressed his shock at the strike on the hospital in Gaza.
“This is part of a broader and deeply unacceptable trend in modern warfare.”
“The wanton killing and targeting of civilians must come to an end,” he remarked.
At least 30 Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli strikes.
Additional strikes in the enclave resulted in at least 30 Palestinian fatalities, including the head of a police station in Khan Younis, located in southern Gaza, as reported by Hamas and health authorities.
Six brothers were killed when an Israeli strike targeted their vehicle in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, according to medics.
The conflict in Gaza was ignited by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 251 individuals taken hostage, based on Israeli reports.
Since that event, more than 50,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the Israeli offensive, as per local health authorities.
Much of Gaza lies in ruins, and a significant portion of its population has been displaced.
The remains of 15 emergency and aid workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency Service, and the UN were discovered in a mass grave in southern Gaza in March.
Aid worker missing after a deadly attack on colleagues is detained by Israel, according to the ICRC.
Meanwhile, a member of the Palestinian Red Crescent who went missing in March, when 15 humanitarian workers were fatally shot by Israeli fire, is currently held by Israeli authorities, as per the rescue service and the Red Cross.
Hisham Mhana, spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza, confirmed that it had received reports indicating that paramedic Assad Al-Nsasrah of the Palestine Red Crescent Society is being held in an Israeli detention facility.
Mr. Mhana noted that the ICRC has not been granted access to Mr. Nsasrah, who had been declared missing until now, and has also been unable to visit any Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023.
In a post on X, the PRCS called for the immediate release of Mr. Nsasrah, stating he was “forcibly abducted” while fulfilling humanitarian duties.
Urgent: We have been informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross that PRCS medic Assad 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.We call on the… pic.twitter.com/l0oOxujS8G
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) April 13, 2025
The statement added that Mr. Nsasrah and his colleagues came under heavy gunfire, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals in a “serious violation” of international humanitarian law.
In March, the bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers from the Red Crescent, Civil Emergency Service, and the UN were found in a mass grave in southern Gaza.
The UN and the Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of killing them while they were dispatched in response to reports of injuries from Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military asserted that a thorough investigation into the incident is underway and that it would only share further details upon completion of the investigation.
It stated that a preliminary inquiry suggested that “the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area, and that six of the individuals killed were identified as Hamas militants.”
The Israeli military has not provided evidence of how it concluded that the six were Hamas members, and the Islamist faction has denied the allegation.
The only known survivor of the incident, PRCS paramedic Munther Abed, reported that soldiers opened fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
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