Palestinian health minister warns of humanitarian catastrophe at Khan Younis hospital

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila warned Thursday of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city in southern Gaza Strip.

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

The army reportedly gave thousands of displaced Palestinians inside the complex until 7:00 a.m. local time (5:00 GMT) to evacuate the hospital, according to witnesses.

Israeli forces stormed the hospital early Thursday, triggering panic among displaced people and patients, witnesses said.

On Wednesday, at least one Palestinian was killed and several others injured in an Israeli attack on the hospital’s orthopedics section.

"This is a new crime being committed by the Israeli occupation against our people in the Gaza Strip,” Alkaila said in a statement.

She appealed to the United Nations to intervene to “halt Israeli crimes” at Gaza’s hospitals.

"The displaced sought refuge at the hospital to escape the Israeli aggression,” Alkaila said. “There is no safe place in the enclave.”

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 28,576 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 Mohammad Sio