Israeli Military Forces Patients and Staff to Leave Hospital in Northern Gaza

The hospital, Kamal Adwan, has been caught in the middle of Israel’s monthslong offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza.

The Israeli military forced patients and staff members to leave one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza on Friday, leaving health officials in the territory concerned for the people who had been getting treatment there amid continued fighting.

The hospital, Kamal Adwan, has been caught in the middle of Israel’s offensive against Hamas militants in the northern part of Gaza, and fighting has raged around the facility for nearly three months.

In a statement, the Israeli military said that the hospital was a stronghold for Hamas and that it was carrying out “targeted operations” in the area. It added that soldiers had evacuated medical staff and patients from the facility “in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population in the area.”

The Gaza health ministry said the Israeli military was forcing sick and wounded people to move to another nearby hospital, which it said lacked medical supplies, water and electricity.

“There are sick people at risk of dying at any moment as a result of the harsh conditions,” the ministry said in a statement. It added that Israeli military vehicles were surrounding Kamal Adwan.

The hospital has been a main provider of medical care for the thousands of people who have stayed in Jabaliya and other towns in the northernmost stretch of Gaza. It has often been inundated with patients and continued offering services despite severe shortages of medical workers.

Alaa Okal, who was working as a nurse at the hospital, said in an interview that Israeli soldiers told female medical workers and patients to leave Kamal Adwan, without immediately giving the same instruction to men.

She said she left the hospital and was walking to Gaza City, southwest of the hospital.

Earlier on Friday, Gazan health officials said they were concerned about the safety of Kamal Adwan’s staff and patients.

“The fate of everyone at the hospital is unknown to us,” said Yousef Abu al-Rish, the deputy health minister in the territory. He is based in southern Gaza.

Israel says the aim of its offensive in northern Gaza is to root out a regrouped Hamas presence in the area. The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safiyah, the director of Kamal Adwan, said the hospital has been attacked many times since Israel’s offensive began.

Asked about some of the incidents raised by Dr. Abu Safiyah, Israel’s military denied bombarding the hospital. Israeli officials have accused Hamas of exploiting Kamal Adwan and other civilian infrastructure in Gaza for military purposes.

While Dr. Abu Safiyah spoke about the situation at the hospital in a video posted to social media on Dec. 24, explosions could be heard in the background.

“All night, we are bombarded in this way,” he said. “We are being killed and slaughtered every day.”

Nour al-Muqayad, a staffer in the intensive care unit, sent her sister a series of harrowing voice messages describing the military’s advance and orders to evacuate.

In one of her last messages, she lamented that a bus was coming in the evening to take the last patients and medical staff away. “Tonight, Kamal Adwan will be empty,” she said. “Nobody will be inside other than the army.”

Rawan Sheikh Ahmad contributed reporting.