Israeli army torches north Gaza hospital; patients in intensive care killed

A fire burns as seen through a window from Kamal Adwan hospital, during the ongoing Israeli military attacks in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, December 18, 2024. (Photo/Reuters)

Several intensive care patients have been confirmed dead after the Israeli army set fire to multiple sections of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza after forcibly evacuating the facility, according to medical sources.

A source from the hospital told Anadolu Agency on Friday that the fire engulfed the surgery, laboratory, maintenance, and emergency departments.

The flames were reported to be spreading rapidly to other sections, with no means to extinguish them, as civil defence teams in the area remain non-operational and military vehicles surround the hospital.

The source added that Israeli forces threatened hospital Director Hossam Abu Safiya with arrest if the facility was not completely evacuated.

Unable to evacuate

Despite the threats, Abu Safiya and several members of the medical staff refused to comply with the evacuation orders, according to the same source.

Patients unable to evacuate on foot, particularly those in intensive care, faced dire circumstances. While some were transferred to the Indonesian Hospital via ambulances, the facility is reportedly non-functional and incapable of accommodating patients, the source noted.

The source further reported that several intensive care patients were dead after the Israeli army cut off their oxygen supply.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army stormed the hospital after forcing medical staff, patients, and their companions to evacuate to the building’s external courtyard, according to medical sources.

Israeli soldiers search patients

Israeli forces began raiding hospital departments after all individuals inside were compelled to leave. Once evacuated, injured patients and others in the courtyard were subjected to searches by Israeli soldiers, the source added.

For its part, the Israeli army said that it launched a "military operation" in the vicinity of the hospital.

A military statement said that “soldiers of the 401st Brigade under the command of the 162nd Division began operating in the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabaliya in the last few hours.”

Israel launched a large-scale ground offensive in northern Gaza on October 5.

Since then, no sufficient humanitarian aid including food, medicine and fuel has been allowed into the area, leaving the remaining population on the verge of imminent famine.

Israel has killed more than 45,400 people in Gaza since October 7, 2023, reducing the enclave to rubble.

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Source: TRT