JERUSALEM — The Israeli military forced patients and staff members to leave one of the last functioning hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday.

The hospital, Kamal Adwan, has been caught in the middle of Israel’s offensive against Hamas militants in the northern part of Gaza, and fighting has raged around the facility for nearly three months.

In a statement, the Israeli military said the hospital was a “stronghold” for Hamas, and that soldiers had evacuated medical staff and patients from the facility “in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population in the area.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Israeli military was forcing sick and wounded people to move to another nearby hospital, which it said lacked medical supplies, water and electricity.

“There are sick people at risk of dying at any moment as a result of the harsh conditions,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Israeli military vehicles were surrounding Kamal Adwan hospital.

Related Story: Israeli ‘Earthquake’ Missile Strikes in Syria Register on the ...

Nurse Speaks Out

Alaa Okal, who was working as a nurse at the hospital, said in an interview that Israeli soldiers had told female medical workers and patients to leave Kamal Adwan, without immediately giving the same instruction to men.

She said she had left the hospital and was walking to Gaza City, southwest of the hospital.

Earlier Friday, Gaza health officials said they were concerned about the safety of the Kamal Adwan’s staff.

“The fate of everyone at the hospital is unknown to us,” said Yousef Abu Al-Rish, the deputy health minister in the territory, who is based in southern Gaza.

Israel has said the aim of its offensive in northern Gaza is to root out a regrouped Hamas presence in the area. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyah, the director of Kamal Adwan, has said the hospital has been attacked many times since Israel’s offensive began on Oct. 6.

Israel’s military has repeatedly denied bombarding the hospital. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of exploiting Kamal Adwan and other civilian infrastructure in Gaza for military purposes.

While Abu Safiyah spoke about the situation at the hospital in a video posted to social media on Dec. 24, explosions could be heard in the background.

“All night, we are bombarded in this way,” he said. “We are being killed and slaughtered every day.”

—

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Adam Rasgon
c. 2024 The New York Times Company