Anglican church says it got Israeli orders to evacuate Gaza hospital in days leading up to deadly attack

By Abdel Jabbar Abu Ras

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - In the days before the attack on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds of people, the church supervising it got three Israeli orders to evacuate the facility, the Anglican Church in Jerusalem said.

At least 471 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the hospital Tuesday evening, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Israel has denied any responsibility for the strike, despite forensic and circumstantial evidence to the contrary.

“We received three orders to evacuate the hospital, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The hospital was bombed on Tuesday,” Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum told a press conference on Wednesday.

“Most of these orders were given over the phone,” he added.

The archbishop called the hospital blast a “crime” and “massacre.”

“We as church leaders always warn of violence as a result of the current conflict in the Middle East between the Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

When asked about the party responsible for the blast, Naoum said: “What we knew is what we saw on television, and we are not military experts to determine this party.”

“What we know at least is that there are many buildings, homes, and many places that were bombed in Israeli raids,” he added, speaking of Gaza, where the hospital is located. “These are facts on the ground,” he added.

Israel has denied responsibility for the hospital bombing, but the army phoning in warnings just before Tuesday bolsters the case that Israel carried out the airstrikes.

The hospital is known as the Baptist hospital for historical reasons, but it has been under the Anglican Church, or Church of England, since the early 1980s.

The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” to ease the “epic human suffering.”

At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.