Head of northern Gaza hospital says near impossible to follow Israeli evacuation order

The head of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, Husam Abu Safiya, tells Reuters via text message that obeying an Israeli order to shut down is “next to impossible” because there are not enough ambulances to get patients out.

“We currently have nearly 400 civilians inside the hospital, including babies in the neonatal unit, whose lives depend on oxygen and incubators. We cannot evacuate these patients safely without assistance, equipment, and time,” says Abu Safiya.

“We are sending this message under heavy bombardment and direct targeting of the fuel tanks, which, if hit, will cause a large explosion and mass casualties of the civilians inside,” he adds.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment on Abu Safiya’s remarks. It said that on Friday it had sent fuel and food to the hospital and helped evacuate more than 100 patients and caregivers to other Gaza hospitals, some in coordination with the Red Cross, for their own safety.

Israel says its operation around three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip — Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia — aims to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself there. Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate the area to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.