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An Israeli military attack on a hospital in Gaza has put the last health facility in the besieged northern region out of service, deepening the humanitarian crisis in the besieged area, according to the UN health agency.
The attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital came as Israel stepped up its offensive in northern Gaza that began in October and killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.
The Israeli army said it was fighting to prevent a resurgence of Hamas in northern Gaza, where most of the population has been forced to flee during a 14-month offensive by the Palestinian group.
The World Health Organization said initial reports indicated that the main departments of the medical center were badly burned and destroyed during the attack on Friday.
It said 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those working on ventilators, remained in the hospital, while others were forced to leave to another damaged hospital.
“The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians who need health care,” the WHO said in a statement on Friday. “This fear must end and health care must be protected.”
The Palestinian health minister said that Kamal Adwan's department of surgery, laboratory, maintenance, ambulance units and warehouses were “completely burnt”.
“The army forcefully sends the sick and wounded, pointing guns at them. . . in an Indonesian hospital, which lacks medical equipment, water, medicine and electricity and generators,” the report said. “There are patients who are threatened with death at any moment because of the difficult conditions.”
The Israeli army said it began operating in the Kamal Adwan “area” following intelligence that Hamas militants were using the hospital.
It added that its forces are “conducting targeted operations in the area while minimizing casualties to civilians, patients and medical personnel”. It said its forces were not responsible for the reconstruction of the hospital.
Hamas has denied that its fighters are using the hospital for military operations.
UN agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly criticized Israel for attacking medical facilities in Gaza since it began attacking Hamas after the Palestinian group's attack on October 7, 2023 killed 1,200 people.
The WHO confirmed 516 attacks on health facilities and medical transport in Gaza, adding that more than 90 percent of the strip's medical facilities were damaged or destroyed.
Israel's offensive in northern Gaza continued as mediators pushed for a deal to end the war and secure the release of remaining Israeli hostages held in the strip before US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month.
The operation reduced Jabalia, which before the war was the largest refugee camp in Gaza and home to more than 100,000 people, to rubble, and extended to neighboring Beit Lahia where the Kamal Adwan Hospital is located.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said its forces had begun operations in the Beit Hanoun district.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 45,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, and forced more than 2.3mn people from their homes.