Israel strikes home and kills relatives of Al Shifa hospital director in Gaza city

'Devastated' Dr Abu Salmiya denies claim his brother, who died in the attack, was a Hamas operative

Israel's military has destroyed the home of Al Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya, killing his brother.

Dr Abu Salmiya was on duty in the emergency department on Saturday when ambulances brought the bodies of his brother, Majed, and his sister-in-law to Al Shifa hospital, the city's largest medical facility.

The Israeli military, which is intensifying its assault on Gaza city, claimed Majed Abu Salmiya was a Hamas sniper.

“I was shocked and devastated to see the bodies of my brother and his wife,” Dr Abu Salmiya told AFP. “Anything is possible now, as you receive your dearest ones as martyrs or wounded. The occupation's crimes continue, and the number of martyrs keeps rising.”

The Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday that Majed Abu Salmiya operated as a sniper for Hamas and was preparing to carry out an attack against its troops in the city.

Al Shifa hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya. AFP

“Prior to the strike, steps were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the Israeli military said.

Dr Abu Salmiya the rejected the Israeli military's claim as “a lie, slander and an unacceptable justification for targeting civilians with direct missile strikes”.

“My brother is a 57-year-old man who suffers from several illnesses such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and he has severe vision impairment – and they claim he was a sniper? This is pure fabrication,” he said.

AFP footage of the aftermath of the strike showed rescuers trying to reach a boy who survived but was trapped amid twisted steel rods and chunks of concrete.

Rescuers at the scene said seven people were killed in the attack, including Majed Abu Salmiya, his wife, and two of their children. They said 30 people were rescued, while the house was destroyed.

The Israel military has been conducting air raids, firing artillery and detonating remotely controlled vehicles packed with explosives as its troops push into Gaza city.

Hundreds of thousands of the city's estimated one million residents have fled since the offensive to seize control began late last month, but many people remain trapped, too exhausted or impoverished to leave.

The assault further escalates a conflict that has roiled the Middle East and probably pushes any ceasefire further out of reach.

The Israeli military, which says it wants to “destroy the military infrastructure” of Hamas has not given an estimated timeline for its operation, but the indications are that it could take months.

At least 31 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, medical sources told official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Gaza's hospitals received the bodies of 75 people, including five killed while seeking aid, in the 24 hours to Sunday afternoon, the ministry said.

The Gaza civil defence agency said at least 87 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday, 70 of them in Gaza city. Eleven were killed when warplanes struck a family home in the city's Al Sabra neighbourhood, it said.

Al Shifa hospital confirmed it had received 34 bodies from Gaza city, while the Baptist hospital said it had received 28.

The Israeli army said that two projectiles were launched from the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, which activated sirens in the areas of Lakhish and Ashdod.

The Israeli air force “intercepted one target, and the second fell in an open area, the army said. No injuries were reported.

The war began after Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, led attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. A total of 48 of the hostages remain in Gaza, and around 20 are thought to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 65,283 Palestinians and injured 166,575, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.