The Israeli military is targeting three major hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip as doctors and authorities in the enclave request immediate intervention by the international community.
On Tuesday, weeklong Israeli attacks intensified on the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital and Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, and the al-Awda Hospital located east of the Jabalia refugee camp.
Two explosive-laden unmanned robotic vehicles planted earlier by the Israeli military blew up in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan in the early hours of Tuesday, wounding approximately 20 patients and medical staff, hospital director Hussam Abu Safia told media.
This was the first time Israeli forces used the explosives outside Kamal Adwan, but there have been similar reports of them being used to detonate buildings in northern Gaza.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, media’s Hani Mahmoud said, “An eyewitness told us that much of the area around the hospital has been cleared from buildings, the infrastructure destroyed and severely damaged, impeding movement in and out of the hospital.”
The hospital has been repeatedly bombed by the Israeli military, rendering various departments, including the intensive care unit, inoperable.
Al-Awda, a charitable facility providing free healthcare in the northern part of the enclave, was hit on its third floor by the Israeli military on Tuesday. Parts of the building caught fire, which also spread to nearby residential buildings.
The Indonesian Hospital, a larger health facility, has also been experiencing increased attacks and Israeli threats, having also been threatened by the Israeli forces to evacuate the entire facility.
media’s Mahmoud said the two hospitals have been providing medical supplies to besieged Kamal Adwan and also transferring patients out of there when possible.