Palestine Red Crescent loses contact with teams at Al-Amal Hospital

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said Sunday that it lost contact with its teams at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army stormed the facility in the morning.

“Communication has been lost with the Palestine Red Crescent Society team at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis due to the VHF wireless communication wave going out of service,” it said on X.

“Various land and cellular communication means, as well as internet services, are still disconnected in Khan Younis Governorate for the 72nd consecutive day,” it added.

Earlier, the Red Crescent indicated that all displaced people and patients who were able to move were evacuated towards the Al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis.

“Currently, hospital staff remain along with nine patients and their 10 companions and a displaced family with children who have disabilities,” it said.

It stressed that there is a need to evacuate the patients and the wounded in addition to the bodies of two martyrs, including Amir Abu Eisha, a member of the emergency operations team at the Palestine Red Crescent Society who was killed by Israeli army sniper fire while he was working at the hospital.

“Israeli vehicles are besieging all entrances to the hospital completely, and anyone from the teams in the hospital is prevented from leaving,” the Red Crescent added.

In a previous statement, the Red Crescent said the Israeli army was firing smoke bombs at Al-Amal Hospital to force medical teams and wounded and displaced people to leave.

On Sunday morning, Israeli forces stormed Al-Amal Hospital and the Nasser Medical Complex amid heavy gunfire and proceeded to carry out excavation work in the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

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

Israel is 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 Rania Abu Shamala