The strikes came hours after Israel said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified.
Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City was struck in a pre-dawn attack after an evacuation warning was issued by Israel, as reported by Gaza’s ministry of health. Tragically, one patient lost their life during the evacuation as medical staff were unable to provide immediate care.
The hospital, run by the Diocese of Jerusalem, was attacked on Palm Sunday, which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Later on, another strike targeted a car in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, claiming the lives of at least seven individuals – six brothers and a friend, according to information from the morgue at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where the bodies were taken.
Israel justified the strike by stating it targeted a command and control center set up by Hamas at the hospital, allegedly used for planning and carrying out attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. However, no evidence was provided to support this claim. Israel mentioned taking precautions to minimize casualties, such as issuing warnings and using precise weaponry along with aerial surveillance, prior to carrying out the attack.
The strikes came hours after Israel’s defense minister said that military activity would rapidly expand across Gaza and that people would have to evacuate from “fighting zones.” Israel also announced Saturday the completion of the Morag corridor, cutting off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, with the military saying it would soon expand “vigorously” in most of the small coastal territory.
Israeli authorities have vowed to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 believed to be alive, and accept proposed new ceasefire terms.
The director of Al-Ahli Hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, said they were warned of the attack before it was struck. In a post on X, he wrote that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, impacting more than 100 patients and dozens of medical staff.
The health ministry said the strike destroyed the ward for outpatients and laboratories and damaged the emergency ward.
Medical facilities often come under fire in wars, but combatants usually depict such incidents as accidental or exceptional, since hospitals enjoy special protection under international law. In its 18-month campaign in Gaza, Israel has stood out by carrying out an open campaign on hospitals, besieging and raiding them, some several times, as well as hitting multiple others in strikes while accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters.
Last month Israel struck Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city, the largest in southern Gaza, killing two people and wounding others and causing a large fire, the territory’s health ministry said. The facility was overwhelmed with dead and wounded when Israel ended the ceasefire with a surprise wave of airstrikes.
The war started after Hamas killed 1,200 people during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, mostly civilians, and took 250 people captive, many of whom were eventually freed in ceasefire deals.
More than 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have so far been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to the health ministry there, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead are women and children.
