Israeli forces have stormed into Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza, expelled some staff and displaced people before withdrawing, and bodies of people killed by airstrikes littered the streets outside, its director has said,
The Guardian reports.
The attack had begun with a series of airstrikes on the western and northern sides of Kamal Adwan accompanied by intensive shooting, the hospital director, Hussam Abu Safiyeh, said, speaking via an online chatroom, Reuters reported.
He said troops who swept into the hospital ordered all staff, patients and displaced people into its courtyard before allowing them hours later to return inside, though some staff, including its Indonesian emergency surgery team, and some displaced were ordered to leave the premises for good.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said 29 people were killed and dozens wounded on Friday by Israeli shelling in north Gaza, “especially around Kamal Adwan”. AFP reported that four hospital staff members were among the dead, citing Abu Safiyeh. The broadcaster Al Jazeera said it had verified footage of Israeli forces firing on a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance outside the hospital.
It is not possible to independently verify the reports as Israel does not allow foreign journalists into Gaza.
The Israeli military on Friday denied claims it had struck or entered Kamal Adwan hospital, saying it was operating next to the facility. “Contrary to the reports made over the past day, the [military] did not strike the Kamal Adwan hospital or operate within it,” it said in a statement.
