Israel orders evacuation of the busy Gaza area with two major hospitals

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported “intense shelling” on Wednesday near the Al-Amal hospital, which it runs, and said three people had been killed in a strike outside its offices in a neighboring building. Israeli forces “surrounded” their teams and “enforced restrictions on movement” around the offices and hospital, the group said.

Gaza's Health Ministry said in a statement that the Nasser Hospital had been effectively cut off by “continuous bombardments,” preventing injured people from getting there and blocking the transfer of patients to a nearby Jordanian field hospital. This was reported by the United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Office his daily update Tuesday that the Jordanian hospital was also included in the evacuation area.

The three hospitals, with a total of more than 600 beds, account for a fifth of the remaining functional hospital capacity in Gaza, according to the UN. It said the evacuation area housed 88,000 residents and an estimated 425,000 displaced people, crammed into about 1.5 square meters. miles.

“The Israeli occupation is isolating the Nasser Medical Complex and endangering the lives of staff, patients and displaced persons,” Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders said Late Tuesday it was reported that Nasser's staff could hear bombs and heavy gunfire, and that 850 patients and thousands of others sheltering there could not leave because the roads from the hospital were inaccessible or too dangerous. The group said it was “deeply concerned” for the safety of people.

The evacuation orders came around the same time the army said it had surrounded Khan Younis after weeks of intense fighting and bombardment. The Israeli military has said it was focusing on the hunt for Hamas leaders in the city, which is densely packed with displaced civilians who fled the northern half of the territory at the army's behest.

A Palestinian who fled Khan Younis on foot on Wednesday morning, Yafa Abu Aker, recounted a terrifying and dangerous journey under heavy bombardment.

“Our last night in Khan Younis felt like judgment day,” she said from Rafah. “We actually felt like judgment day might have been easier,” she added.

Ms. Abu Aker said she had fled three times since the war began and ended up in a refugee camp in Khan Younis because “Israel said it was a safe zone.”

But over the past three days, she said, “we are seeing violent clashes and more than 200 military aircraft flying overhead, intensively dropping dozens of bombs in all directions, along with tank shelling and gunfire.”

Ultimately, Ms. Abu Aker said she realized she had no choice but to evacuate again. “We will die if we stay and we will die if we leave,” she said, but at least by leaving she thought she could avoid the situation. 'buried under the rubble'.

In a statement on Wednesday, Israel accused Hamas of exploiting the civilian population and said the operation in Khan Younis would continue until it completed “dismantling the Hamas military framework and Hamas strongholds.”

As many as 7,000 people were believed to have sheltered on the grounds of the Nasser hospital last week, many of whom fled as the fighting intensified. The Israeli army has said mortar fire was fired at its troops from the hospital, which is the largest in southern Gaza. Her claim could not be independently verified. Israel has long said Hamas uses hospitals to hide militants and weapons.

The World Health Organization said last week that Nasser Hospital had treated 700 patients in one day alone and was struggling to care for the growing number of wounded amid escalating violence in Khan Younis.