Last major health facility in north Gaza 'out of service'

Kamal Adwan Hospital is in Beit Lahia, centre of intense Israeli military operation aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping

Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Friday. Photo: Wafa

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An Israeli military raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital has put the last major health facility in northern Gaza out of service, the World Health Organisation said.

Israeli forces evicted patients and staff sheltering inside the hospital on Friday, hours after about 50 Palestinians were killed in air strikes on a building in the complex. Gaza's Health Ministry said the hospital's director, Hossam Abu Safiya, and dozens of his staff were arrested.

WHO said 60 health workers and 25 patients in a critical condition were believed to still be in the hospital.

“Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid,” the WHO said on social media site X. “The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care.”

The post ended with a call for a ceasefire. “This horror must end and health care must be protected. Ceasefire!”

The United Arab Emirates condemned the burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital and the forced evacuation of patients and medical staff by Israeli forces as a "heinous act that violates international humanitarian law".

Kamal Adwan is in Beit Lahia, a city at the centre of an intense Israeli military operation aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping in northern Gaza.

By Friday afternoon, Gaza's Health Ministry said it had lost contact with staff inside the building, which has been a target of the Israeli military for weeks.

“The occupation forces are inside the hospital now and they are burning it,” ministry director Munir Al Bursh said.

About 350 people were inside the hospital when the raid began, including 75 patients – some with severe injuries – and 180 medical staff and workers across various departments.

The Israeli military said it was targeting “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of the hospital. “The troops are conducting targeted operations in the area, while mitigating harm to uninvolved civilians, patients, and medical personnel,” it added.

The Israeli military has been attacking the complex with bombs and drones for weeks, claiming the hospital has become a hideout for “terrorist operatives”.

“We categorically deny the presence of any military activity or resistance fighters in the hospital,” Hamas said in a statement.

“The enemy's lies about the hospital aim to justify the heinous crime committed by the occupation army today, involving the evacuation and burning of all hospital departments as part of a plan for extermination and forced displacement.”

Hamas urged the United Nations to set up an investigation committee “to examine the scale of crime being committed in northern Gaza”.