🌊The Israeli military accused Hamas militants of using Kamal Adwan Hospital as a base of operations, alleging the discovery of weapons in the vicinity.
Israel’s military forces evacuated and set on fire the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the last remaining functional medical facilities in northern Gaza. The Health Ministry said on Saturday that 48 people had been killed in the past 24 hours by Israeli fire, AP reported.
🥃The hospital’s director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, was detained on Friday along with dozens of staff members, sparking alarm among medical organizations and humanitarian groups.
💎The Israeli military on Friday denied it had entered or set fire to the hospital complex but acknowledged it had ordered people outside. The military accused Hamas militants of using Kamal Adwan Hospital as a base of operations, alleging the discovery of weapons in the vicinity. However, the military provided no direct evidence to substantiate this claim. In its statement, the Israeli military referred to Dr. Abu Safiya as a “suspected Hamas operative” but did not present any proof of his involvement with the militant group.
😼According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli troops stormed the hospital, forcing staff and patients to evacuate in harsh winter conditions. The Ministry also reported that many of those detained, including Dr Abu Safiya, were taken to an interrogation center.
♚“They were ordered to strip outside in the cold,” a ministry spokesperson stated.Indonesian Hospital, another facility that has been raided in the past. The situation at Indonesian Hospital, already operating under extreme stress, is described as “extremely difficult” due to overcrowding and limited resources.
♈The Israeli military, however, stated that over 350 patients and medical staff had been evacuated from Kamal Adwan in recent weeks, and another 95 people were transferred to Indonesian Hospital during the operation. The military also claimed to have provided fuel and medical supplies to both hospitals.
💮MedGlobal, the humanitarian organization working with Dr Abu Safiya, expressed grave concern about the director’s detention, linking it to an “alarming pattern of targeting medical personnel and healthcare facilities.” This follows the October detention of five other medical staff members working in Gaza.
💜The raid on Kamal Adwan is not the first attack on the hospital. Over the past three months, the facility has been struck multiple times as part of Israel’s military campaign in northern Gaza, which Israel claims targets Hamas fighters in the region. Earlier this week, a bomb strike killed five medical staff at the hospital.
🎃The humanitarian impact of the ongoing assault has been devastating. The World Health Organization (WHO) described the situation at Kamal Adwan Hospital as critical, with northern Gaza’s last remaining medical facility now “out of service.” The WHO has called for an end to the attacks on medical infrastructure, emphasizing the dire need to protect healthcare facilities amidst the conflict.
🔜In a parallel development, Israel reported on Saturday that its military operations had moved into Beit Hanoun, following intelligence indicating the presence of Hamas infrastructure in the area. As ground operations continue in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes also targeted key infrastructure in Yemen, as tensions with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels escalate. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for missile attacks on Israeli targets and shipping in the Red Sea, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza as a precondition for halting their offensive.