Nasser Hospital In ‘Catastrophic’ Condition As Israeli Troops Raid

NASSER HOSPITAL – Israel’s military claims to have apprehended “dozens” of terror suspects during a raid on southern Gaza’s largest hospital, forcing staff and patients to run under fire.

Israel said it launched a “precise and limited mission” at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, citing intelligence that Hamas had detained prisoners there.

Hamas denounced the assertion as “lies”.
The hospital’s director told the BBC that the circumstances inside were “catastrophic and very dangerous”.

According to Israel Defence Forces chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, those apprehended included a participant in Hamas’ attack inside Israel on October 7, “an ambulance driver for Hamas” who had driven a hostage into Gaza, and a member of the armed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Nasser Hospital In ‘Catastrophic’ Condition As Israeli Troops Raid

He stated that interrogations of “terrorists who were arrested or surrendered in the area,” as well as testimony from rescued captives, had “determined that kidnapped Israelis were previously held in the hospital compound.”

However, he stated that Israeli special forces involved in the hospital operation had yet to discover any proof of kidnapped Israelis and that the search was ongoing.

His statements came hours after the BBC confirmed footage of medical professionals carrying patients on stretchers down a smoke-filled corridor.

One patient, still in their bed, is shown being transported through a corridor with a damaged ceiling.

Other patients may be seen, including one being taken away in what appears to be a blanket.
In another video, individuals are shown piling furniture and other items against a door while a narrator announces in English that Israeli forces are going to enter.

A nurse at the hospital told the BBC that a “large number of dogs” were discharged during the operation.
Nasser’s director, Nahed Abu-Teima, told BBC Arabic that there had been “violent shelling and severe explosions” for several hours “in the vicinity of the complex”.

He claimed that the patients who remained at the clinic were “piled up in wards” with critical injuries and urged the UN and Red Cross to “save” them and the personnel.

Nasser is one of the few hospitals still operational in Gaza, and it has been the site of severe battles between the IDF and Hamas for days.

Nasser Hospital In ‘Catastrophic’ Condition As Israeli Troops Raid

The operation began Thursday, a day after the IDF ordered thousands of displaced Palestinians to leave the site.

Israel’s military said it had told Nasser hospital staff that patients and staff were not required to leave and that medics could continue to treat Gazans.

Dr Ashraf al-Quadra, a spokeswoman for Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, contradicted this, claiming that Israeli troops compelled hospital administration to “keep intensive care patients without medical equipment”.

Rawan Al-Mughrabi, a chemist at the hospital, was among those evacuated by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday.

She told BBC Arabic that “a state of panic caused people [being evacuated] to stand on top of one another and scream.” Several persons were injured and hospitalised. Upon leaving the hospital gate and reaching the checkpoints, police dogs stormed the entire hospital and departments, arresting many people. “Most of the medical cases were evacuated from the hospital, and only the very critical cases remained,” she stated.

On Wednesday, the UN’s humanitarian office said there were reports of sniper fire at the compound, endangering the lives of physicians, patients, and displaced people.

Medicins San Frontieres, a medical charity, stated that people told to evacuate faced an untenable choice: stay “and become a potential target” or depart “into an apocalyptic landscape” of explosions.

Israel launched its military attack after waves of Hamas fighters broke through Israel’s border on October 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and carrying 253 others as prisoners back to Gaza.

Nasser Hospital In ‘Catastrophic’ Condition As Israeli Troops Raid

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s campaign has killed more than 28,600 individuals, the majority of whom are women and children. Israel claims its goal is to destroy Hamas and secure the return of the hostages.

Israel is under increasing international pressure to exercise caution. On Wednesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare Israel’s operations in Gaza “must cease” and that the human cost was “intolerable”.

But Mr Netanyahu reiterated that his troops will march on the Gazan city of Rafah, which has already been bombarded. Approximately 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering in the area.

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand released a joint statement expressing “grave concern” that a military action in Rafah would be “catastrophic”.

SOURCE – (BBC)