Gaza City, Palestinian Territories: In a recent update from Gaza's civil defense agency, it was shared that an Israeli airstrike impacted a hospital early Sunday morning, leading to some damage. Meanwhile, Israel has taken control of a corridor in the area and is looking to broaden its military efforts.
Thankfully, there were no casualties reported from the strike, and the Israeli military shared with AFP that they are looking into what happened.
The local civil defense team shared that the Israeli air force targeted a building at the Al-Ahli hospital, affectionately known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City shortly after midnight.
The airstrike happened "just moments after the (Israeli) army kindly encouraged patients, the injured, and their companions to safely leave this building," the agency mentioned in a statement.
"The bombing caused significant damage to the surgery building and the oxygen generation station that supports our intensive care units," it mentioned.
Since the onset of military operations in October 2023, hospitals, which are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, have consistently been subjected to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
On October 17, 2023, an explosion in the parking facility of Al-Ahli hospital resulted in extensive damage and a significant number of casualties.
On Sunday, Hamas's press office stated that since the commencement of hostilities, Israeli forces have systematically targeted hospitals in Gaza, including Al-Ahli, employing tactics of "bombing, arson (and) destruction," which have rendered these facilities "non-operational."
On March 28, the World Health Organization reported that 22 of the 36 hospitals in Gaza were operating with limited functionality.
As of Saturday, the health ministry of Gaza indicated that at least 1,563 Palestinians have perished since the cessation of hostilities on March 18, resulting in an overall death toll of 50,933 since the commencement of the conflict.