By Safiye Karabacak
ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli attacks have put Beit Hanoun Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip out of commission, unable to serve people who need medical attention, Palestinian authorities said Monday.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that Israel had repeatedly targeted the vicinity of the hospital, the only hospital in Beit Hanoun, a city with a population of some 36,000.
The attacks made the entry and exit of hospital staff impossible and also damaged large parts of the facility, said the statement, forcing it to suspend services.
The Gaza-based resistance group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and rising settler violence.
In retaliation, the Israeli army launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces in Gaza has risen to 560, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Monday, with the number of injured at 2,900.
The Interior Ministry in Gaza said the Israeli army has "intensified its aggression" on Gaza with hundreds of raids.
The Israeli army said it had struck over 500 targets in overnight raids on Gaza, which they claimed were targets belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups.
At least 800 Israelis have been killed and over 2,300 others wounded in the fighting, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.
* Writing by Seda Sevencan