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Patients at a hospital in Gaza's north have described harrowing scenes as the Israeli military issued eviction orders for the facility over the weekend.
Kamal Adwan Hospital has been repeatedly attacked in the 14-month Israel-Gaza conflict, including ground raids by Israeli forces, leaving the hospital without plumbed-in oxygen supplies and basic medical necessities. Attacks have reduced the surrounding area to rubble, leaving displaced people to hide in the ruins of buildings nearby, unable to leave for fear of being killed.
“The hospital faced an unprecedented attack on Sunday night, and such assaults continue daily, putting the lives of medical staff and patients at severe risk,” Dr Munir Al Bursh, director-general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told The National. Hossam Abu Safiya, director of the hospital in Beit Lahia, said the hospital's generators were hit and that “the army is attempting to target the fuel tank, which is full of fuel and poses a significant fire risk”.
Several hospital departments were struck on Saturday night and into Sunday, including the intensive care unit – the only one in northern Gaza – as well as the maternity ward, neonatal unit, and others. More than 80 patients are still being treated in the facility, Dr Abu Safyia said in a video posted to Instagram.
“We are struggling to communicate with the medical teams, and we urgently demand protection for them as they are inside a civilian facility that is protected under all international laws, conventions and norms,” Dr Al Bursh said.
As the night wore on, hospital staff gathered in hallways for safety as strikes drew nearer. Photos on social media showed patients lying in beds or on floors, crammed into gangways. Patient Musab Abu Ameira, 34, said bombing did not let up all night and that a drone hovered above, broadcasting messages to people to seek shelter.
“Hours later, the drone called on us to evacuate the hospital. During that time, the area had turned into a fireball, and patients, companions, and doctors huddled together in the hospital corridors, packed one on top of the other.”
“The drones instructed us to move to the Indonesian Hospital, but this was unanimously rejected by everyone present. There is no safe way to transport the wounded and injured, as at any movement we could be mercilessly targeted by the Israeli forces, especially since the evacuation order came during the night.”
The World Health Organisation called reports of an eviction order “deeply worrisome” and called for an immediate ceasefire in the vicinity of the hospital.
“The hospital has been in the midst of fighting for too long and the lives of patients are at risk,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, adding teams from his organisation were able to make a delivery of 5000 litres of fuel and 100 blood units, as well as transferring eight patients and 13 companions to Al Shifa Hospital.
The conflict in Gaza, sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 hostages taken back to the enclave, has killed more than 45,200 people and left millions homeless and crammed into small so-called safe zones. On Saturday and Sunday, at least 32 Palestinians were killed in attacks on the hospital, a school housing the displaced and a home in Deir Al Balah, the Ministry of Health said.
In the heavily besieged northern Gaza, the bombs continue to fall. “The bombing has not ceased, and drones kill anything that moves. Just last night, a 10-year-old girl who stepped into the hospital courtyard was killed within less than a minute by a drone strike,” Mr Abu Ameira said. The Israeli military said it was unaware of any strikes on the hospital, one of just two still operating in northern Gaza.
“We have run out of food and water at Kamal Adwan Hospital for days now. Everyone is suffering – patients, companions, and doctors alike.” As military operations persist in the besieged northern Gaza Strip, Civil Defence teams are not allowed to enter. This restriction leaves anyone injured without hope of rescue.
“The occupation prevents specialised teams from reaching targeted areas in northern Gaza, a policy that contradicts divine laws as well as international and humanitarian laws,” Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defence in Gaza, told The National.
Yousri Abu Al Jibeen, sheltering in a building close to Kamal Adwan Hospital, said he had watched with anguish as dogs preyed on the dead, unable to intervene for fear of being attacked himself.
“We watch through the window as stray dogs gnaw at the bodies of martyrs almost daily … they have come to see the bodies of martyrs in the streets of northern Gaza as their source of food, as there is nothing else for them to eat,” he said, adding he tried to photograph the sight to document what is happening for the outside world.
Mr Basal said he has also received numerous reports that civil defence teams have found skeletal remains in areas vacated by the Israeli army. “International conventions and norms mandate the legal protection of the deceased and grant their families the right to know their fate by collecting information, data, and all documents related to the deceased. What is happening in Gaza blatantly violates all these conventions.” Mr Bassal added, asking for the international community to take action.
