Raided Gaza hospital not functioning, patients evacuated: WHO

AFP

The Kamal Adwan hospital in north Gaza is no longer functioning and patients have been evacuated after a raid by the Israeli troops, putting the collapsing health services in further peril, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday.

Gazan authorities said Israeli forces last week used a bulldozer to smash through the perimeter of the hospital, claiming it was used by Hamas fighters.

Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.

The WHO had said it was urgently seeking information about the hospital.

"What we understand is it's not functional anymore," Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative for Gaza, told Reuters.

He said two newborn babies were taken home "to their families and with a description how to take care of them", while other patients including infants were evacuated to Al Ahli and Al Shifa hospitals. "Many health workers were reportedly detained," he said.

Most hospitals in Gaza have been put out of operation by the war, with health services in northern Gaza worst affected.

Gaza is home to 2.3 million people, most of whom have been displaced from their homes by the offensive launched by Israel in retaliation for Hamas' October 7 incursion.

Peeperkorn also said that about 4,000 displaced people taking refuge in the grounds of the Nasser medical complex in the southern city of Khan Younis were at risk as Israel pursues military operations there.

More from International

  • Iranian President Raisi killed in helicopter accident, state media says

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday.

  • ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Israeli, Hamas leaders

    The International Criminal Court prosecutor's office said on Monday it had requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence chief and three Hamas leaders for alleged war crimes.

  • Assange given permission to appeal against US extradition

    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was given permission to have a full appeal over his extradition to the United States after arguing at London's High Court on Monday he might not be able to rely on his right to free speech at a trial.

  • Israel intends to broaden Rafah sweep, Defence Minister tells US

    Israel intends to broaden its military operation in Rafah, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday told a senior aide to US President Joe Biden, who has warned against major action in the southern Gazan city that may risk mass civilian casualties. Israel describes Rafah, which abuts the Gaza Strip's border with the Egyptian Sinai, as the last stronghold of Hamas Islamists whose governing and combat capabilities it has been trying to dismantle during the more than seven-month-old war. After weeks of public disagreements with Washington over the Rafah planning, Israel on May 6 ordered Pale

  • New Taiwanese president calls on China to stop threats

    Taiwan President Lai Ching-te asked China on Monday to stop its military and political threats, saying in his inauguration speech that peace is the only choice and that Beijing had to respect the choice of the Taiwanese people.