Gaza hospital hit by Israeli strike, Hamas-run health ministry says

An Israeli air strike destroyed part of a hospital in Gaza City, said the Ministry of Health of the territory.

Witnesses said that the strike had destroyed the intensive care and surgery departments of the Baptiste Hospital in Al-Ahli, the main medical establishment in Gaza City.

The video published online seemed to show huge flames and smoke that rises from the hospital after the missiles hit a two -story building. People, including some patients still in hospital beds, were filmed rushing far from the site.

Israel said he was considering reports on the strike. No victim has been reported, according to the civil emergency service.

The Ministry of Health said that the building was “completely destroyed”, leading to “forced displacement of patients and hospital staff”.

A local journalist, who worked at the hospital, said that the Israel Defense forces (FDI) had called a doctor who operated on the emergency department and asked them to evacuate the hospital immediately.

“All displaced patients and people must go to a safety distance,” said the officer.

“You only have 20 minutes to leave.”

Images on social networks have shown that staff and patients leave the building while it was still black outside.

Dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, were also seen fleeing a courtyard inside the hospital where they had sought a shelter.

Al -Ahli – A small medical establishment before the war – is now the only hospital that still works in Gaza City after the destruction of Al-Shifa medical complex and northern band hospitals.

In his statement, the government’s media office managed by Hamas condemned the attack.

Israel “commits a horrible crime by targeting the Al-Ahli hospital, which is home to hundreds of patients and medical staff,” he said.

In October 2023, an attack on the same hospital killed hundreds of people.

Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli strike for the explosion. Israel said the explosion was caused by a launch of rocket failed by the Jihad Palestinian Islamic militant group, which denied responsibility.

The Israeli army launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross -border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

Since then, more than 50,933 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health managed by Hamas in the territory.

Among these, 1,563 have been killed since March 18, when Israel has restarted his offensive in the Gaza Strip, the ministry said.