Israeli attacks on hospital knock last intensive care unit in northern Gaza out of service

The Israeli army has launched a new set of attacks on the Kamal Adwan hospital, sparking a fire that rendered the last functioning intensive care unit (ICU) in northern Gaza out of service. 

Overnight on Tuesday, the hospital endured Israeli shelling, as well as the use of exploding robots near its grounds, Al Jazeera reporter Moath al-Kahlout reported. 

Local media reported that Kahlout has since been detained by the Israeli army in Jabalia.

Kamal Adwan has been the focus of military efforts by Israel since its war on Gaza began in October 2023.

The hospital is an obstacle to Israel's plan to ethnically cleanse the northern half of the besieged strip, as it is where around 65,000 to 75,000 people have sought refuge. 

At least 2,500 Palestinians have been killed and 10,000 others wounded in Israel's most recent offensive in northern Gaza, while hundreds more have been abducted and thousands forcibly expelled. 

Eid Sabbah, the director of nursing at Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Al Jazeera that it was a night “full of horror” at the medical facility. 

Israeli bulldozers began surrounding the area around the hospital, destroying streets and infrastructure.

Quadcopter drones also targeted the medical compound and its vicinity.

Eight Palestinians were killed on the Tuesday evening attack on the Battah family home west of Kamal Adwan Hospital, according to civil defence forces. 

“Many have been wounded and many are still under the rubble,” Sabbah said, adding that the attacks filled the ICU with smoke. As a result of the shortage in resources and necessities, 74 injured patients were treated “in a very primitive way”.

On Wednesday morning, continued Israeli shelling sparked a fire in the hospital's ICU. 

The director of the northern Gaza hospital, Hussam Abu Safiya, spoke about the fire that has since been extinguished by hand.

"Sudden and crazy gunfire targeted the hospital with all kinds of weapons. The occupation deliberately targeted the intensive care unit by firing at it clearly," he said.

Gaza hospital issues 'last distress call' as fresh Israeli attack wounds patients

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"Now the intensive care unit is out of service and the situation is catastrophic. We have appealed to the world for more than 75 days to provide protection for the health system and its workers, but there is no response."

According to Hanan Balkhy, the regional director for the World Health Organization (WHO), an international medical team that was deployed to the hospital was not allowed entry, amid the continued Israeli offensive in the area. 

"Attacks on Kamal Adwan Hospital in north #Gaza have caused further damage, leaving it without surgical or maternal care capacity," she said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

"The fear endured by the hospital’s staff and patients in recent days is indescribable - and unacceptable. Peace in #Gaza is now long overdue."

Blackout on northern Gaza

For over two months, Israel has imposed a blackout on northern Gaza, severely hindering residents from contacting the outside world and sharing information about what they are going through.

Since 5 October, they have been subject to a brutal siege that has prevented all humanitarian aid from entering. 

Reports of starvation, bombardment and displacement are still emerging, with human rights organisations describing the Israeli army's actions as "genocidal". 

Meanwhile, civil defence teams and paramedics have been prevented by Israeli forces from rescuing the wounded, and all hospitals in the north have been forced to cease operations under incessant Israeli attacks and with their staff being arrested.  

More than 45,097 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in all of Gaza since October 2023, with 107,244 others wounded, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian health ministry.