Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants near the main hospital in central Gaza has caused medics, patients and displaced people to flee, witnesses said Monday.
The withdrawal by Doctors Without Borders and other aid groups from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah spread panic among people sheltering there and led many to leave for the southern part of the besieged territory. Omar al-Darawi, an employee at the hospital, said it has been struck multiple times in recent days and that patients have been concentrated on one floor so the remaining doctors can tend to them more easily.
Israel says it has largely concluded major operations in northern Gaza and is now focusing on the central region and the southern city of Khan Younis. Israeli officials have said the fighting will continue for many more months as the army seeks to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken during the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.
Hamas’ attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 250 others were taken hostage. Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Currently:
— Palestinians flee from central Gaza’s main hospital as fighting draws closer and aid groups withdraw
— With every strike and counterstrike, Israel, the US and Iran’s allies inch closer to all-out war
Palestinians inspect the damage of a destroyed house following Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younis, Southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. Credit: AP/Mohammed Dahman
— Israel says Hezbollah struck sensitive air traffic base in the north and warns of ‘another war’
— Blinken meets Jordanian and Qatari leaders on new Mideast push to keep Gaza war from spreading
— 7 Palestinians, an Israeli policewoman and a motorist are…
Read the full article here
