The Ministry of Health said early Thursday that a patient was killed and others were injured when Israeli forces targeted a building inside the hospital.
Hazem Bahloul, a doctor at Nasser Hospital, told the newspaper: “I hear the sound of gunfire, but I don’t know where.” It appears that the Israeli army is conducting searches in all other buildings.”
Bahloul said that the Israeli army instructed all employees and patients to move to one of the hospital’s three buildings. He said he moved to the old internal medicine department building with approximately 50 medical staff and 100 patients, making sure that intensive care patients in the other building remained accompanied by one nurse.
He added that the food and water supplies promised by the Israeli army have not yet been delivered. He added: “I don't know what will happen or where we will end up.”
Mohamed Harara, an emergency physician at Nasser Hospital, uploaded a video on Thursday that appears to show part of the hospital in complete darkness, surrounded by thick dust and some rubble, while gunfire can be heard in the background. Harara says in the video: “The Israeli army attacked us in the hospital.” “Is there anyone still inside? There's shooting! There's shooting! Keep your heads down!”
Harara, who previously spoke with The Washington Post about conditions at Nasser Hospital, was completing his residency at Shifa Hospital when the war began, before having to move to southern Gaza.
the Israeli Defense Army He said On Thursday, it was conducting “a precise and limited operation inside Nasser Hospital.” Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesman, said the mission was based on “credible intelligence,” including from released hostages, that Hamas was holding hostages at Nasser Hospital and “there may be bodies of our hostages at the Nasser Hospital facility.”
He said the operation would ensure that the hospital “continues its important function of treating Gaza patients,” adding that “there is no obligation on patients or staff to evacuate the hospital.” He said that medical supplies and equipment were transferred in coordination with international organizations.
Later instructionsHajari said that some of those involved in the October 7 attack were found in Israel inside the Nasser complex.
Doctors Without Borders, which has medical staff at the hospital, said some of its workers had to flee the facility, leaving patients behind. One of them was arrested at a checkpoint while leaving the group's compound he said on social mediapraying for his safety.
In a statement, Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, expressed concern about the raid, which she said came after a week-long siege that cut off medical, food and fuel supplies. She also criticized the movement of patients to different buildings, which she said exposed them to “serious risks.”
“The raid appears to be part of a pattern of attacks by Israeli forces on essential life-saving civilian infrastructure in Gaza, especially hospitals,” she said, adding that the office documented similar raids across the Strip that had “severe consequences for the Strip.” “Safety” of patients, staff and civilians sheltering in the shelter.
As well as the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus He called the raid on social media, saying that two WHO missions had been rejected in the past four days and that the organization had lost contact with hospital staff.
“Nasser is the backbone of the health system in southern Gaza,” he said. “It must be protected.”
The previous day, the Israeli army, using loudspeakers, instructed the displaced people sheltering in the hospital complex to evacuate the building and move to a specific area within the city.
The Israeli army began besieging the hospital last month. The Israeli military claimed in late January that Hamas activists were operating “in and around” the hospital. International doctors volunteering there said they saw no sign of militant activity in the building.
Frances Vinall contributed to this report.
