Israel bombs the last functioning hospital in Gaza

BarcelonaThis morning, Israel bombed Al Ahli Hospital, the last remaining operating hospital in Gaza City. Two projectiles reportedly hit the intensive care and surgical wards, forcing the evacuation of the building. Images from Al Jazeera, the only international media outlet with access to the Strip, show patients and entire families—who were using the center as a shelter—fleeing the burning hospital. Since the start of the war, Israel has bombed and destroyed 36 hospitals in Gaza.

The Gaza Ministry of Health has confirmed that the building is "completely destroyed" and that the bombing has led to the "forced displacement of patients and hospital staff."

The attack has left seriously ill patients on the street, at least three of whom died after being evacuated. According to staff members, the evacuation notice for the health center was given with only a 20-minute notice, insufficient time to transport some patients. A child with a traumatic brain injury who was on a ventilator died because medical personnel were unable to obtain an oxygen cylinder before Israeli forces attacked the hospital. He is the only casualty of the bombing, but emergency services are still searching for possible injured people trapped under the rubble or unable to escape in time.

The Israeli army has confirmed the offensive—which was carried out in coordination with the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence services—and has asserted that it was directed against a Hamas command compound within the hospital. In a statement, it claims that Al Ahli Hospital "had been used by the Hamas terrorist organization" to "plan and execute terrorist plots," but provides no evidence to support this. Instead, it again accuses Hamas of using "civilian buildings and the civilian population" for its operations.

The Israeli military also claims that measures had been taken to mitigate damage to civilians and the hospital complex by issuing alerts shortly before the aerial bombardment and by using "precision munitions and aerial surveillance." However, the version of local journalists and witnesses reported by international media is that military sources called a doctor from the hospital's emergency services just twenty minutes before the attack and asked him to evacuate the center immediately. "All patients and displaced persons must leave to a safe distance," the officer reportedly said. "You only have 20 minutes to leave."

For the Palestinian authorities, the attack is part of the Israeli forces' strategy of depriving the population of Gaza of food and medical careIn fact, Israel has blocked the entry of any supplies into Gaza since March 2, thus violating humanitarian law. According to a UN report last week, at least 345,000 Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from extreme hunger (phase 5), and 91% are in a food crisis.

Al-Ahli was a small medical center before the war, but it became the only functioning hospital in Gaza City after the destruction of the Al-Shifa hospital complex in the northern part of the Strip, which Israeli troops besieged in March and April 2024. Dr. Mohammed explained a few days ago. He told Al Jazeera that the Ahli was not designed to be a large hospital, and that, as a result, conditions were already precarious when it had to assume the load of patients from Al-Shifa Hospital. In fact, he claims they had received up to 150 patients at the same time.

"The emergency department that was just destroyed is 5 x 15 meters, very, very small," he explains. But, despite its size, it was the only emergency department "that was functioning for almost a million people living in the area." Now, with the destruction of essential facilities such as the reception area, emergency department, laboratory, and pharmacy, the hospital has been completely rendered inoperable. A worrying development for the hundreds of patients receiving medical care and for all those who may need it as a result of the incessant Israeli bombardment.

Gaza authorities have described the attack as "a flagrant violation of all international charters and the Geneva Conventions that prohibit the targeting of medical facilities." In a statement, they asserted that Al Ahli Hospital was "one of the oldest and most important healthcare institutions" in Gaza, and described the attack as an "atrocious" and "terrible" crime.