Gaza (Eurotoday) – On Sunday, two Israeli missiles struck a building within a major hospital in Gaza, destroying its emergency and reception departments and damaging surrounding facilities, according to medics and as reported by Reuters.
Medical personnel at Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital were forced to evacuate patients after receiving a phone call from an individual claiming to represent Israeli security forces shortly before the strike occurred. Fortunately, the civil emergency service reported no casualties.
How significantly did the strike impact the hospital?
The hospital, affiliated with the Anglican Church, was one of Gaza City’s key medical institutions, according to the Gaza health ministry. However, operations have ceased in the aftermath of the attack.
“Hundreds of patients and injured people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night, and many of them are now out in the streets without medical care, which puts their lives at risk,” said ministry spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran.
Unverified social media footage showed people leaving the hospital, some pushing their sick relatives on hospital beds.
Both the Palestinian foreign ministry and Hamas condemned the strike, accusing Israel of deliberately dismantling Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
How did Israeli authorities explain the attack?
The Israeli military said it took precautions to limit civilian harm before targeting the hospital compound, which it claimed was being used by Hamas militants for operational planning.
Israel has long accused Hamas of embedding its military activities within civilian infrastructure, including hospitals—claims that Hamas denies. Over the course of the conflict, Israeli forces have conducted multiple operations within medical facilities across the enclave.
What did church and local authorities say?
The Baptist Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East stated that 20 minutes before the strike, Israeli forces instructed hospital personnel, patients, and displaced people to evacuate the facility.
The strikes reportedly destroyed a two-storey Genetic Laboratory, damaged the hospital’s Pharmacy and Emergency Department buildings, and caused collateral damage to nearby structures, including St. Philip’s Church.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled that the hospital has been bombed for the fifth time since the war began in 2023, and this time it happened on the morning of Palm Sunday — the beginning of Holy Week,” the church declared.
“We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions,” the church statement added.
Elsewhere in Gaza, at least 10 Palestinians were killed on Sunday during a separate strike, including the head of a police station in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Hamas media and local health officials. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA also reported that at least eight other people, including a woman, were killed in northern Gaza. Israel has not commented on these specific reports.
Eurotoday is a daily online news platform based in Belgium. It delivers original and independent coverage of international and European affairs. With a continent-wide perspective, Eurotoday covers EU policy, political developments in Member States, and global news from a European viewpoint.
Leave a Reply