Palestinians assess the destruction left behind after Israeli forces retreated from the vicinity of Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The event took place on October 26, 2024. Photo credit: Reuters.
Israeli forces pulled back from a hospital complex in northern Gaza on Saturday, a day after launching an incursion into the facility. The Palestinian health ministry reported that the troops had detained numerous male medical staff members and some patients. Health officials stated that Israeli forces had stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the three medical facilities in the area struggling to maintain operations. Video footage released by the health ministry, which Reuters could not immediately verify, depicted damage to several buildings following the Israeli withdrawal. Medical personnel reported that at least 44 out of the hospital's 70-member team had been detained by the army. Subsequently, the army released 14 of them, including the hospital's director. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment on the hospital report. The Israeli military had previously stated that their operations near the hospital were based on intelligence indicating the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure.
Medical staff reported that at least two children died in the intensive care unit after Israeli fire struck the generators and oxygen station on Friday. Medical staff have defied Israeli army orders to evacuate the hospital or abandon their patients. Prior to the raid, medical personnel estimated that around 600 people, including patients and their escorts, were in the hospital. Marwan Al-Hams of the health ministry expressed concern, stating, 'The safety and lives of patients who are left inside Kamal Adwan Hospital without medical staff and much needed medication are at risk now.' The ministry also reported that three nurses were injured during the raid and three ambulance vehicles were destroyed. Israeli military strikes in the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have resulted in approximately 800 deaths over the past three weeks.
Israel asserts that its forces returned to northern Gaza to eliminate Hamas fighters who had regrouped there. The Israeli military reported that three of its soldiers were killed in combat in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) described the situation in northern Gaza as 'extremely dire' and emphasized the need for safe passage for those wishing to evacuate. The ICRC stated, 'Ongoing evacuation orders, and continued restriction on introduction of essential supplies, leaves the remaining civilian population in north Gaza in horrific circumstances.' Hospitals are being instructed to evacuate, potentially leaving a void in medical services for the many civilians still present, who are critically under-resourced as new patients continue to arrive.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim accused Israel of violating international humanitarian law through its incursions in northern Gaza and the storming of Kamal Adwan Hospital, suggesting that such actions could not have been carried out without 'the protection of Western countries.' Israel frequently accuses Hamas of using civilian populations and property, including hospitals and mosques, for military purposes. Hamas denies these allegations. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it had expanded the humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi in the southern Gaza Strip, where the army has previously instructed Palestinians to relocate when forced to evacuate their homes. Separately, Israeli forces killed a Hamas member during a raid in the city of Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Saturday, according to an Israeli security force statement. The man was reportedly planning an imminent attack. Hamas identified the man as Islam Jamil Awda, stating that he died 'clashing with the occupation forces who besieged him for hours in a house in Tulkarm camp.'
Violence has escalated across the West Bank since the beginning of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians, including armed fighters, stone-throwing youths, and civilian bystanders, have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks over the past year. Hamas-led fighters launched an attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the capture of about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. The death toll from Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza is nearing 43,000, with the densely populated enclave in ruins.
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