'Israel' enforces evacuation of last operating hospital in north Gaza
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IOF have forcibly evacuated Al-Awda Hospital in Tal al-Zaatar, the last operational medical facility in northern Gaza, amid critical shortages and rising civilian casualties, according to health officials and UN agencies.
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Al-Awda Hospital, destroyed by Israeli bombardment, in northern Gaza (OCHA)
Israeli occupation forces have expelled patients and medical staff from al-Awda Hospital in Tal al-Zaatar, the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza, according to a statement released by the hospital on Thursday.
The hospital, located in the northern governorate of the Gaza Strip, reported that 97 individuals remained inside the facility at the time of the expulsion, 13 of them were patients and injured individuals, along with 84 medical personnel.
"This is a forced evacuation being carried out by Israeli occupation forces against the only remaining operational hospital in northern Gaza," al-Awda Hospital stated.
The Health Ministry in Gaza confirmed that "Israel" demanded the full evacuation of the hospital, effectively rendering it out of service. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also confirmed ongoing efforts to evacuate the facility.
"The hospital is overwhelmed with injuries and critically low on supplies," OCHA noted, adding that "ongoing hostilities over the past two weeks have damaged the hospital, disrupted access, and caused widespread panic, deterring people from seeking care."
The IOF had besieged al-Awda Hospital last week, trapping 160 Palestinians inside, including medical personnel and wounded civilians.
Hospitals in northern Gaza forced out of service
On May 18, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia is now completely out of service, following the IOF siege.
This development marks a critical point in the ongoing Gaza hospital shutdown, as all public hospitals in northern Gaza are now non-operational. The ministry stated that continuous shelling around the hospital, as well as blocking access to patients, medical teams, and supplies, forced its closure.
With the destruction of Beit Hanoun Hospital, the shutdown of Kamal Adwan Hospital, and now the Indonesian Hospital, the healthcare system in northern Gaza has completely collapsed.
Earlier, the ministry revealed that the Israeli military was surrounding the Indonesian Hospital and firing live rounds at anyone moving within its vicinity.
94% of Gaza hospitals damaged
Israeli raids have targeted at least ten hospitals and clinics in the Gaza Strip in the previous week, prompting full or partial service shutdowns and overloading the remaining health-care facilities, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
The attack on the European Hospital in Khan Younis signaled the beginning of "Israel's" escalated ground assault.
"These strikes severely increased pressure on Gaza's collapsing health system," it said, quoting the Gaza Health Ministry, which said that 400,000 Palestinians are now without access to medical care.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 28 attacks on hospitals in the strip last week, accounting for 4% of all hospital attacks since the onslaught began.
"Military assaults in Gaza are pushing the health system to collapse," the WHO said on X, stressing that 94% of hospitals had been severely damaged or destroyed.
