Gaza’s second-biggest hospital ‘out of action’ as Israeli forces battle Hamas

Cairo/Jerusalem — The Gaza Strip’s second-largest hospital was put out of service on Sunday as Israel battled Hamas militants in the devastated Palestinian enclave, said Hamas health ministry and UN officials.

The Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was sheltering scores of war-wound patients as the health crisis worsened.

Gaza health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said there was no power and too few staff to treat all patients. 

“It’s gone completely out of service. There are only four medical staffers currently caring for patients inside the facility,” he said.

The Israeli military said it was hunting for militants in and around Nasser. It said it arrested at least 100 suspects on the premises, killed gunmen near the hospital and found weapons in the hospital.

Most Gaza hospitals have been put out of action by fighting and lack of fuel, leaving 2.3-million people without proper healthcare. 

Tens of thousands have been wounded by air strike and many others suffer  chronic illness and, increasingly, starvation. Israel has raided medical facilities, alleging that Hamas keeps weapons and hostages in hospitals. Hamas denies that its fighters use medical facilities for cover.

The international community says hospitals, which are protected under international law, must be protected.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) urged Israel to grant its staff access to the hospital, where it said a weeklong siege and raids by Israeli forces searching for Hamas militants stopped them from helping patients.

“Yesterday and the day before, the @WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel,” WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media platform X.

In a statement on hostilities in Gaza, the Israeli military said: “Dozens of terrorists were eliminated and large quantities of weapons were seized.” 

Israel’s air and ground offensive has devastated much of Gaza and forced nearly all of its inhabitants from their homes. Hamas health officials say that 28,985 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.

The war began when Hamas sent fighters into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Reuters