“Chaos in Gaza: Forceful Evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital Sparks Outrage and Detains Medical Heroes”

Israeli forces have apprehended and interrogated healthcare personnel after forcibly evacuating the last significant hospital in northern Gaza, according to the health ministry controlled by Hamas.

The head of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, was among those taken for investigation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which accused him of “being a Hamas terrorist operative,” without substantiating its claims.

On Friday, approximately 50 individuals, including healthcare workers, lost their lives in Israeli air assaults targeting the vicinity of the hospital, reported the health ministry.

The IDF stated it had executed an operation in that area, asserting the hospital was a “Hamas terrorist stronghold.”

Fifteen critically ill patients, 50 caregivers, and 20 medical staff were relocated to the nearby Indonesian Hospital, stated the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO expressed it was “appalled by yesterday’s raid” on the hospital, which it indicated now results in the area’s last significant health facility being non-operational.

Eid Sabbah, the head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan, informed the BBC that the military had mandated the evacuation at approximately 07:00 on Friday, granting the hospital roughly 15 minutes to transfer patients and personnel to the courtyard.

Israeli forces subsequently entered the hospital and evacuated the remaining patients, he reported.

The IDF claimed it had “facilitated the secure evacuation of civilians, patients, and medical staff” prior to commencing the operation.

The city of Beit Lahia, where the hospital is situated, has been under an intensifying Israeli blockade enforced on parts of northern Gaza since October.

The UN has indicated that the region has been under “near-total siege” as the Israeli military significantly limits the access of aid shipments to an area where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 individuals remain.

In recent days, the hospital’s administration has made urgent appeals for protection, stating that the facility has turned into a frequent target for Israeli bombardments and ordnance.

However, the IDF and Israeli Security Agency (ISA) contended that intelligence indicated “terrorists” were utilizing Kamal Adwan Hospital as a command center for its military activities in Jabalia.

In a statement released on Saturday, the IDF reported capturing 240 combatants.

It declared that IDF personnel were attacked during the operation and weaponry was discovered and seized in the vicinity of the hospital.

It further indicated that Dr Abu Safiya was among the medical staff taken for questioning and is “suspected of being a Hamas terrorist operative, as well as Hamas engineering and anti-tank missile operatives.”

Hamas has urged the United Nations to intervene in order to safeguard the remaining medical facilities in Gaza.

“We also demand the deployment of UN observers to these facilities to ascertain the reality of what is occurring,” it stated in a release on Saturday.

Gaza’s deputy health minister, Dr Yousef Abu-Al Rish, conveyed to the BBC that around 100 healthcare workers were being interrogated by the IDF and alleged that some were subjected to psychological torture.

The IDF did not address the latter accusation when contacted by the BBC.

Concerns persist regarding the condition of the Indonesian Hospital, which doctors have cautioned is not suitable for patients.

“You can’t refer to it as a hospital, it’s more akin to a shelter,” Dr Abu-Al Rish remarked on Friday.

The WHO added that an urgent mission is being organized to move patients from the Indonesian Hospital to southern Gaza for medical treatment.

Additional reporting by Shaimaa Khalil