Israeli forces arrested a hospital director and dozens of staff after raiding the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza, the ministry of health in the territory says.
The World Health Organization said the raid on Kamal Adwan – which has come under Israeli assault for months – put the facility out of service, warning on Friday that some patients , including those on ventilators, remained inside.
On Friday, Dr. Safiya said in a post on social media that Israeli forces were besieging the facility, “and issuing orders for its evacuation.” Multiple nurses have said staff and patients were then ordered to leave the hospital and gather outside.
After hours of being held, they were forced to move to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, the staff said, a facility the WHO has described as “destroyed and nonfunctional.”
The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that it had begun “targeted operations” around the hospital based on intelligence “regarding the presence of terrorist infrastructure and operatives” there, but did not offer any proof of the claim.
“Unfortunately, this water was mixed with chlorine and other substances, resulting in burns on their hands and faces,” Al Batsh said, adding one patient died in the fire.
An audio message from staff at Kamal Adwan said that surgical departments, laboratory, maintenance, and emergency units have been completely burned.
The WHO has previously said that Israeli authorities have repeatedly denied humanitarian access to Kamal Adwan Hospital and just this week said that a request to deploy international emergency medical teams was denied by Israeli authorities, “despite the need for immediate surgical interventions for injured patients.”
In the video, a man with special needs is trying to explain what happened to him, making signs of gunfire and gestures indicating that he has been beaten on his arms and face. He arrived alone and his bare feet are covered in dust.
The patient’s name is Khaled Hazzaa, according to another man stood nearby who says he is Hazzaa’s nephew. The man says they had not seen each other for 82 days until Al Shifa Hospital called him. Hazzaa was being treated at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the man says.
Khader Al Za’anoun of Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, contributed to this report.