IDF said to launch probe into unauthorized demolition of disused Gaza hospital
Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach reportedly suspected of ordering last week’s demolition of building, which had been out of use for some time, without approval required for sensitive targets
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces has reportedly launched an investigation into the apparent unapproved demolition of a hospital in the central Gaza Strip last week.
The military confirmed the details to Haaretz on Monday, saying “the incident is being investigated.”
The so-called Turkish Hospital building was still considered a sensitive site, the report said, even though it had ceased to be used as a hospital for some time, under wartime orders from the IDF.
Footage posted to social media on Friday showed the IDF blowing up the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, located in the Netzarim Corridor area.
The IDF claimed at the time, in response to a query, that it carried out an airstrike on a group of Hamas operatives residing at the hospital, which the terror group had turned into “terror infrastructure.”
A clip posted online, however, showed a controlled demolition of the hospital, rather than an airstrike.
According to Haaretz, the military was surprised by the demolition.
It is suspected that the commander of the 252nd Division, Brig. Gen. Yehuda Vach, unilaterally removed the building’s designation as a sensitive site, and then ordered the demolition without receiving approval from his superiors, according to the report.
The Military Advocate General has reportedly instructed Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor to investigate the building’s demolition.
The demolition of sensitive sites in Gaza, such as hospitals and universities, requires the approval of senior officers, including the chief of the Southern Command and the chief of staff.
הריסת בית החולים הטורקי בעזה
☆יאיר אלטמן – הערוץ הרשמי☆ יחד ננצח???????? pic.twitter.com/89nHyhfzYA
— Gera. Belik (@gershon27) March 21, 2025
The military used the hospital building as a post for troops in the months prior to the January ceasefire-hostage deal, the report noted.
The sensitive-site designation was kept for the building, the report said, because civilians are known to enter buildings previously used by troops to look for food or equipment left behind.
Vach’s name was brought up in a separate Haaretz investigation in January, which claimed that the division commander had endangered the lives of troops with an aggressive attitude to operations and sent forces into combat areas without adequate preparation.
Haaretz also noted that last year, then-IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi censured Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram — then the 99th Division commander and now the Gaza Division commander — for ordering the demolition of a university in Gaza City without the necessary authorization.
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