North Gaza’s only operating hospital evacuated after Israeli warning

There is now “no health facility working in the north,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have not responded to requests for comment.

Heavy shelling

Dr. Salha described the evacuation as a difficult decision, prompted by threats from Israeli forces to either enter and kill those inside or bomb the hospital. “We were thinking of the lives of patients and our staff,” he said.

The hospital endured intense shelling from tanks starting around noon local time. Despite initial resistance to evacuate due to the presence of critical patients, after seven hours of negotiations, the evacuation began. Patients were carried over 300 metre to ambulances, as surrounding roads were heavily damaged.

Videos from hospital staff showed ambulances and vehicles departing the facility at sunset and travelling through Jabalia after dark. Patients were transferred to the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Dr. Salha noted plans to provide some services through a primary health centre in Gaza City and possibly establish another in a shelter.

Israel continues its military operations in Gaza, with at least 72 people reported killed in strikes over the past 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. The hospital had been under siege multiple times and hit by strikes damaging vital facilities and supplies.

UN agencies report that most primary healthcare centres in Gaza are partially or fully non-functional. Only 61 out of 158 primary healthcare centres and nine out of 27 UN Palestinian refugee agency health centres remain operational.

Rising international pressure

The UN has condemned looting of medical aid at a field hospital in central Gaza. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said armed individuals looted warehouses intended for malnourished children.

UN humanitarian agencies warn that Gaza’s 2.1 million residents face a “critical risk” of famine due to the blockade restricting aid. Jens Laerke from the UN’s OCHA agency described Gaza as “the hungriest place on earth.”

France’s President Emmanuel Macron called for a tougher international stance if Israel does not increase aid flow soon. Israel rejected accusations of a humanitarian blockade, countering Macron’s remarks on social media.

(With inputs from from BBC)