Palestine claims Israeli troops torched Gaza hospital, forced out staff, patients

Israeli forces entered Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Friday, forcing patients and staff out in harsh winter conditions, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The medical personnel and patients were allegedly coerced to undress, with some taken to an unknown location.

In Short

• Israel claims Hamas operates within the hospital
• Hospital official describes chaotic scenes amid fire
• Rights group petitions Israeli court to stop raids

The Gaza Health Ministry on Friday said that Israeli forces entered Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, forcing patients and staff outside amid winter, news agency Associated Press reported. The hospital, one of the few still functioning in the area, has been hit multiple times during the ongoing conflict.

The Health Ministry said that Israeli troops assembled medical personnel and patients in the hospital yard, coercing them to remove their clothing. Some were reportedly taken to an unknown location, while others were transferred to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, which had already been rendered inoperable earlier this week after an Israeli raid.

Israel’s military said its actions targeted Hamas infrastructure and fighters in the vicinity of the hospital. It repeated allegations that Hamas operates within Kamal Adwan, though no evidence was provided. Hospital officials denied the claims.

In an audio message shared on social media by the hospital director, a staff member described chaotic scenes. “Fire is ablaze everywhere in the hospital,” the unidentified worker was quoted as saying by AP in its report. “There are currently patients who could die at any moment,” she said.

She added that some patients had been disconnected from oxygen during the evacuation.

The Health Ministry also alleged that troops set fires in several parts of the hospital, including the laboratory and surgery department. It said 25 patients and 60 health workers remained in the facility out of 75 patients and 180 staff present before the raid.

The Israeli rights group, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, filed a petition with Israel’s High Court of Justice earlier this week, seeking to halt military operations at Kamal Adwan. The group warned that evacuating the hospital would leave thousands of residents in northern Gaza without access to critical medical care.

Since October, Israel has intensified its campaign in Gaza, sealing off northern areas and displacing tens of thousands of residents. Kamal Adwan is one of three hospitals still operating in these regions. Israeli forces previously raided the hospital in October and evacuated the Indonesian Hospital on Tuesday.

Israel launched its military campaign following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, which left approximately 1,200 people dead and led to the abduction of around 250 others.

(Inputs from AP)