GAZA, Palestine

Israeli forces are attacking Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza with tanks and heavy gunfire in a clear violation of international humanitarian law, the Palestinian Health Ministry said early Monday.

It said the army has surrounded the hospital and explosions could be heard accompanied by violent clashes between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

Warning that the attack aimed to cause the health system in the northern Gaza Strip to collapse, it said it holds Israeli forces responsible for the lives of the medical staff, patients and displaced people in the hospital.

"The Israeli army raiding the hospital with tanks, drones and guns and opening fire inside is a war crime that confirms Israel's intention to eliminate the health sector and destroy hospitals,” the Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip said on Telegram.

It added that the situation threatened the lives of thousands of people in the hospital and added to the black record of the Israeli army, which "still commits various crimes and massacres."

"We condemn in the strongest terms the army's raid on the medical complex and consider it a clear war crime, a violation of international law, a violation of international agreements and a crime against humanity," it added.

The US and the international community are held entirely responsible for the safety and lives of medical personnel, the injured, patients and displaced people, it noted.

​​​​​​​While some of the displaced people managed to leave the hospital before the raid, Israeli forces targeted the facility and opened fire inside, killing and wounding others.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Gozde Bayar