The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, encircled by Israeli drones and tanks, has pleaded with the international community to intervene to protect the northern Gaza hospital as Israel ordered patients as well as hospital staff to evacuate.The hospital remains one of the few still operational in the area, where only a handful of doctors remain to treat patients amid a severe shortage or complete depletion of essential medical supplies.
“We are now facing direct bombing of the intensive care unit again,” Dr Hussam Abu Safia said in a video statement on Saturday night, calling on the international community to protect the hospital and its 66 remaining patients as well as medical staff.
“The nursery, maternity, and all departments of the hospital are being targeted by the occupation forces with all types of weapons, including sniper fire, tank shells, and quadcopters,” he added.
“For more than an hour now, shells are raining down on us from every corner, mile, and direction.”
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from nearby Deir el-Balah, said, “What we are seeing now is a deliberate attack on the health facility.” Advertisement
“The Israeli military has ordered evacuations from the hospital, but they have also created an intimidating environment that makes people feel it’s unsafe to leave.”
Mahmoud added that contact with those besieged at the hospital had been lost overnight.
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