Critically ill patients in ‘extreme danger’ amid Israeli raid on Gaza hospital, warns Health Ministry

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Gaza’s Health Ministry warned Thursday that critically ill patients are in “extreme danger” amid an Israeli raid on the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city.

“The occupation soldiers are forcing medics to keep intensive care patients without medical attention, which puts their lives in extreme danger,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Israeli army said early Thursday that its forces stormed the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip and detained a number of suspects.

“This operation is based on intelligence information indicating the presence of Hamas activities inside the hospital,” the army claimed.

The Israeli army has laid a siege around the hospital and ordered the evacuation of the medical complex.

Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila warned early Thursday of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe at the hospital amid an Israeli raid on the facility.

Since Jan. 22, Khan Younis has witnessed a massive Israeli ground invasion, forcing tens of thousands of the city's residents to flee under heavy Israeli bombardment.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 28,663 and causing mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory'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 stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in 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 Ahmed Asmar