By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) – Israeli troops forced the evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and many patients, some of them on foot, arrived at another hospital kilometers away in Gaza City, the Ministry of Health said on Tuesday. Health of the territory.
The Indonesian Hospital is one of the few hospitals in the Gaza Strip still partially functioning, in its far north, an area that has been under intense Israeli military pressure for almost three months.
Israel says its operation in the three northern Gaza communities surrounding the hospital – Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia – targets Hamas militants.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of trying to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.
Munir Al-Bursh, director of the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, said the Israeli army had ordered hospital officials to evacuate it on Monday, before storming it in the early hours of Tuesday and forcing the who were inside to leave.
He said two other medical facilities in northern Gaza, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals, were also under frequent attack by Israeli troops operating in the area.
“The occupation forces have taken all three hospitals out of service due to repeated attacks that mined them and destroyed parts of them,” Bursh said in a statement.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the report.
Officials at all three hospitals have so far refused Israel’s orders to evacuate their facilities or leave patients unattended since the new military offensive began on October 5.
Israel says it has been facilitating the delivery of medical supplies, fuel and the transfer of patients to other hospitals in the enclave during that period in collaboration with international agencies such as the World Health Organization.
Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said they resisted a new army order to evacuate hundreds of patients, their companions and staff, adding that the hospital has been under constant Israeli fire that damaged generators, pumps oxygen and parts of the building.
Israeli forces have operated in the vicinity of the hospital since Monday, doctors said.
NEW STRIKES
Meanwhile, Israeli shelling continued in other parts of the enclave and medics said at least nine Palestinians, including a member of the civil emergency service, were killed in four separate military strikes across the enclave on Tuesday.
The war in Gaza was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli counts.
Since then, Israel’s campaign against Hamas has killed more than 45,200 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.
A new attempt by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the fighting and free Israeli and foreign hostages has gained momentum this month, although no progress has yet been reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that progress had been made in hostage negotiations with Hamas, but he did not know how long it would take to see results.
Differences between Israel and Hamas over a possible ceasefire in Gaza have narrowed, according to statements Monday by Israeli and Palestinian officials, although crucial differences remain to be resolved.