North Gaza hospital chief says strikes around facility wounded 3 staffers; no immediate comment from IDF

Israeli attacks in and around a hospital in northern Gaza wounded three medical staff overnight Thursday-Friday and caused damage to the isolated medical facility, according to its director.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya says Israeli quadcopter drones carrying explosives deliberately targeted the emergency and reception area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where one doctor was wounded for a third time.

Abu Safiya says “relentless” drone and artillery strikes throughout the night exploded “alarmingly close” to the hospital, heavily damaging nearby buildings and destroying most of the water tanks on the hospital’s roof and blowing out doors and windows.

Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya has been hit multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation against Hamas terrorists in northern Gaza. The IDF has said that the hospital has routinely been used by Hamas fighters who hide among civilians.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.

Abu Safiya says there were 72 wounded patients at the hospital, one of the few medical facilities left in northern Gaza. He says he expected Israeli forces would allow a World Health Organization aid convoy to bring supplies to the hospital on Friday or Saturday, as well as a team of doctors from Indonesia.

Israel has allowed almost no humanitarian or medical aid to enter the three besieged communities in northern Gaza — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp — and ordered tens of thousands to flee to nearby Gaza City.

Israeli officials have said the three communities are mostly deserted, but the United Nations humanitarian office said Tuesday it believes around 65,000 to 75,000 people are still there, with little access to food, water, electricity or health care. Experts have warned that the north may be experiencing famine.