Reports of an Israeli raid on a hospital in northern Gaza are “deeply disturbing”, the head of the World Health Organisation has said.
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital last night after it was fired upon by tanks, Palestinian officials and medics at the facility have said.
Meanwhile, in southern Gaza strikes killed at least 38 people, many of them children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Raid reports ‘deeply disturbing’
Nursing director Eid Sabbah told the Reuters news agency the hospital’s oxygen stores were hit before troops raided the building and ordered staff and patients to leave.
He spoke of the “terrorising of civilians, the injured and children”.
The IDF said it has been conducting operations in the area of the hospital “based on intelligence information regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area”.
Kamal Adwan Hospital is located near the town of Jabalia, which has been subject to a weeks-long Israeli offensive.
WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus said he had “lost touch” with personnel at the hospital since reports of the raid emerged.
“This development is deeply disturbing given the number of patients being served and people sheltering there,” he said.
‘Horrific scenes’
Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the WHO, told Sky News the situation remains very unclear, with reports of hostilities and evacuation orders.
He said a WHO team was able to reach the hospital on Thursday evening to deliver supplies and take some of the most critical patients further south.
The team described “horrific scenes” of hundreds of wounded people with trauma injuries lying on the floor of the hospital, with hundreds more seeking shelter, Mr Jasarevic said.
Strike on Khan Younis
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said at least 38 people were killed in strikes on residential buildings in Khan Younis, many of them children.
The IDF said it had killed a number of Palestinian gunmen in air and ground strikes and dismantled military infrastructure.
Residents of Khan Younis – where huge numbers of Gazans took shelter amid the Israeli offensive – were seen searching the debris to try and retrieve clothes and documents.
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Ahmed al-Farra described digging relatives including his mother from the rubble, saying he had lost 15 members of his extended family during the airstrikes.
“As I was trying to dig (my mother) out I looked at this wall and saw a tank aiming at me. I was thinking ‘shall I dig or shall I watch the tank,’ what shall I do? I dug her out full of fear.”
L-R: Captain Barak Israel Sagan, Sergeant Ido Ben Zvi and Sergeant Hillel Ovadia. Pic: IDF
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IDF soldiers named
The IDF has released the names of three Israeli soldiers who have died and whose families have been notified of their deaths.
The three soldiers, who died “during combat in the northern Gaza Strip” according to the IDF, are: Captain Barak Israel Sagan, 22, Sergeant Ido Ben Zvi, 21, and Sergeant Hillel Ovadia, 22.
Journalists killed
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes in southeast Lebanon have killed three journalists, according to Lebanese officials.
Two of the journalists worked for the pro-Iranian news outlet Al-Mayadeen and the third worked for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar. Several others were wounded.
There has been no immediate comment on the strike from Israel.