Tensions in Gaza have escalated again following a reported Israeli airstrike that destroyed key departments of the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, according to Hamas. The attack, which struck the intensive care and surgery units of the hospital, left the area engulfed in flames and smoke, as seen in widely circulated online videos. Some patients, still in their hospital beds, were seen being evacuated amidst the chaos.
The Hamas-run government condemned the strike as a “horrific crime,” accusing Israel of deliberately targeting a facility housing hundreds of patients, medical staff, and displaced civilians seeking shelter. The Israeli military said it was investigating the reports and has not yet confirmed responsibility for the attack. No casualties have been reported so far, according to Gaza’s civil emergency services.
A local journalist stationed at the hospital said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) contacted a doctor at the emergency department shortly before the strike and issued a stark warning. “All patients and displaced people must go out to a safe distance… You have only 20 minutes to leave,” the officer reportedly said. Social media footage showed scenes of panic as medical staff, patients, and families fled the hospital in darkness.
Al-Ahli, which was a relatively small hospital before the war, has become Gaza City’s last functioning medical facility after Israel’s earlier offensives destroyed the Al-Shifa medical complex and other hospitals in the northern part of the territory.
This latest incident echoes a similar tragedy in October 2023, when an explosion at the same hospital killed hundreds. Palestinian authorities blamed Israel for that blast, while Israel attributed it to a failed rocket launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad a claim the group denied.
Israel’s offensive began after the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and saw over 250 hostages taken. Since then, more than 50,933 people have died in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with at least 1,563 fatalities reported since March 18, when Israel resumed its operations.
The continued strikes on medical infrastructure have drawn international concern amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
