Israeli army fires inside Kamal Adwan Hospital with 600 people inside

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Health Ministry in Gaza on Friday evening said the Israeli army is searching and opening fire inside the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza with 600 people inside.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that the Israeli army is conducting searches and firing inside Kamal Adwan Hospital, causing alarm among the 600 people inside, including 70 medical staff, 195 patients and injured people, and their escorts.

It also said two children in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) died as the Israeli army disrupts the work inside the hospital.

The agency added that the Israeli army destroyed three ambulances, a transport vehicle and a power generating system in the hospital.

It urged the humanitarian organizations to urgently intervene to protect all inside the hospital, and provide them their basic needs.

Earlier, the Health Ministry said that it lost contact with the health staff in Kamal Adwan Hospital following the Israeli army's incursion.

The Israeli army detained dozens of Palestinians evacuated from the hospital, forcing them to strip down to their boxer shorts and gather in an open area in cold weather.

On Oct. 5, the Israeli army attacked northern Gaza, claiming it was to “prevent Hamas from regaining strength in the area.” However, Palestinians say Israel seeks to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack in October last year by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 100,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar