Gaza (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Sunday, two Israeli missiles struck a building within a major hospital in Gaza, obliterating the emergency and reception department while causing damage to additional structures, according to medics, Reuters reported.
Health officials at Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital evacuated patients after a call was received from an individual claiming to be from Israeli security, just before the attack occurred. According to the civil emergency service, no casualties were reported.
How significantly did the hit affect the hospital?
The hospital was affiliated with the Anglican Church. It was a key medical institution in Gaza City, as reported by the Gaza health ministry. However, it is currently closed due to the attack.
“Hundreds of patients and injured people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night, and many of them are now out in the streets without medical care, which puts their lives at risk,”
Khalil Al-Deqran, the ministry’s spokesperson, said.
Images shared on social media, not yet verified by Reuters, depicted numerous individuals exiting the premises, some seemingly pulling ill relatives on hospital beds.
The Palestinian foreign ministry and Hamas condemned the attack on Al-Ahli, stating that Israel was destroying Gaza’s healthcare system.
How did the Israeli authorities justify the attack?
The Israeli military stated that it had implemented measures to minimize civilian casualties prior to striking the compound, utilized by Hamas militants for attack planning.
Israel claims that Hamas intentionally uses civilian structures, such as hospitals, for military purposes, a charge that Hamas refutes. Subsequently, Israeli forces have conducted multiple operations in healthcare facilities within the enclave.
What did the authorities say about the attack?
The Baptist Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East stated that 20 minutes prior to the hospital attack, the Israeli military instructed all patients, staff, and displaced individuals to leave the premises.
It said the two strikes destroyed the two-storey Genetic Laboratory, damaged the Pharmacy and Emergency Department buildings, and caused collateral damage to surrounding structures, including the St. Philip’s church building.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled but the bombing of the hospital is now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023, and this time was on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week,”
the Baptist Church stated.
“We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions,”
the group said in a statement.
Moreover, a separate strike on Sunday, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in the enclave, including the head of a police station in Khan Younis, located in the southern area of the Hamas-controlled region, as reported by Hamas media and local health authorities. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least eight more people, including a woman, were killed further north. There was no immediate comment from Israel regarding these reports.
