Israeli army storms Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital

Israeli soldiers stormed Gaza’s last functioning hospital on Friday and forced Palestinian medics and patients to leave on foot to an unknown destination.

The Israeli army issued a statement confirming it launched a raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital. It claimed that Hamas uses the hospital as a command center without providing any evidence. 

The spokesperson for the World Health Organization expressed concern about the deteriorating health situation in Gaza, after Israeli troops stormed the  hospital. 

“We are witnessing the targeting of civilians and the health system in Gaza,” Margaret Harris told Al Jazeera. “What Gaza’s hospitals are exposed to is horrific, and what we are witnessing represents a punishment for the population.”

According to international humanitarian law, health organizations must not be targeted. The spokesperson said the UN health agency was not a law enforcement agency and does not have a mandate beyond supporting the Strip’s health system.

On Thursday, nearly 50 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a building near Kamal Adwan Hospital, including five medical staff, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. 

Dr Ahmed Samoud, lab technician Israa Abu Zaida, technologist Fares Al Hudali, paramedics Abdul Majeed Abu Al Aish and Maher Al Ajrami were killed in the strike, the ministry said, The National reported. 

Hossam Abu Safiya, head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia, said “an Israeli strike resulted in five martyrs among the hospital staff”. The medical staff were staying in the building with their families when the attack happened.

The United Nations and other organizations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, particularly in the north, since Israel began its latest military offensive in early October.

Kamal Adwan hospital has been under a tight siege by the Israeli military. It has been attacking the facility with bombs and drones for weeks.