Israeli missiles strike Gaza hospital shortly after warning to evacuate

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 13, 2025 9:57 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes ago

Two Israeli missiles deed a gathering wrong a main Gaza infirmary connected Sunday, destroying the exigency and reception section and damaging different structures, medics said, successful a strike Israel said was against Hamas fighters exploiting the facility.

Health officials astatine the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital successful Gaza City evacuated the patients from the gathering aft a telephone telephone from idiosyncratic who identified himself arsenic Israeli information soon earlier the pre-dawn attack.

No casualties were reported successful the strike. The Israeli subject said successful a connection it had taken steps to trim harm to civilians earlier it struck the compound, which the subject said was being utilized by Hamas militants to program attacks.

The infirmary — an instauration of the Anglican Church and a large aesculapian installation — was knocked retired of operation, according Gaza's Health Ministry.

Overnight evacuation

"Hundreds of patients and injured radical had to beryllium evacuated successful the mediate of the night, and galore of them are present retired successful the streets without aesculapian care, which puts their lives astatine risk," said the ministry's spokesperson Khalil Al-Deqran.

Sunday's strikes came arsenic Hamas leaders began a caller circular of talks successful Cairo, successful a bid to salvage a stalled ceasefire statement with Israel, arsenic Egypt, Qatar and the United States person stepped up efforts to span gaps betwixt the sides.

Images circulating connected societal media, which Reuters could not instantly verify, showed dozens of radical leaving the premises, with immoderate assisting patients connected infirmary beds.

Reuters footage showed important demolition successful and extracurricular the infirmary compound's church, and patients who couldn't leave.

Attack lasted 'all night,' says injured man

"The country was scary, from nighttime until now, I haven't slept a azygous infinitesimal retired of fear. All night, solid shattered astatine america inside," said an injured man, Mohammed Abu Nasser.

The Baptist Church successful Jerusalem said the informing to evacuate the infirmary came 20 minutes earlier the onslaught that destroyed the two-storey familial laboratory, and damaged the pharmacy and exigency section buildings and different surrounding structures.

"We telephone upon each governments and radical of goodwill to intervene to halt each kinds of attacks connected aesculapian and humanitarian institutions," the religion said successful a statement.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry and Hamas condemned the onslaught astatine Al-Ahli, and said successful a connection that Israel was destroying Gaza's health-care system.

Israel says Hamas systematically exploits civilian structures, including hospitals, which the militant radical denies. Israeli forces person carried retired galore raids successful aesculapian facilities successful the enclave.

Earlier blast in hospital parking lot 

In October 2023, a deadly blast astatine a parking batch successful the compound of Al-Ahli Hospital was blamed by Hamas connected an Israeli airstrike. Israel said a failed rocket motorboat by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad radical had caused the blast.

The militant radical denied it was responsible. An probe by Human Rights Watch concluded the detonation was astir apt caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch.

Separate strikes successful the enclave connected Sunday killed astatine slightest 14 Palestinians, including the caput of a constabulary presumption successful Khan Younis, successful the confederate portion of the Hamas-run enclave, according to Hamas and wellness authorities. Six brothers were killed erstwhile an Israeli onslaught deed their car successful Deir al-Balah successful cardinal Gaza Strip, medics said.

The warfare successful Gaza was triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught connected confederate Israel, successful which 1,200 radical were killed and 251 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, much than 50,000 Palestinians person been killed successful the Israeli offensive, according to section wellness authorities. Much of Gaza is successful ruins and astir of its colonisation has been displaced.