Four doctors were killed on Friday in a raid by Israeli forces on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, according to eyewitnesses. The assault, which also left dozens injured in the surrounding areas, resulted in the Israeli military forcing patients and healthcare workers to leave the hospital, while also destroying critical medical supplies.
Dr. Hussam Abu Saifya, the hospital director, described how the Israeli military sent two plainclothes officers into the facility in the early hours of the morning, who used a loudspeaker to order an evacuation. During the two-hour raid, a “large number” of young men, including healthcare workers and refugees, were detained, Abu Saifya said.
Israeli drones unleashed intense and targeted fire as military vehicles surrounded the hospital, with patients, displaced people, and medical staff gathered in the courtyard and forcibly moved southward toward Gaza City, he recounted.
“There were airstrikes on the northern and western sides of the hospital, followed by intense fire. I was ordered to evacuate everyone, including patients and staff, and gather them in the courtyard to be taken to a checkpoint,” Abu Saifya explained. “In the morning, we found hundreds of bodies and injured individuals on the streets surrounding the hospital. The situation is catastrophic, particularly in northern Gaza.”
An Indonesian medical team, the only group performing surgery at the hospital, was also evacuated and prevented from returning, according to Abu Saifya.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew hours later from one of the few remaining operational hospitals in northern Gaza. Staff and patients who had left found hundreds of bodies and the wounded scattered in the streets, Abu Saifya said. A photo shared by the doctor on social media showed at least 17 bodies covered in shrouds within the hospital courtyard, and another 20 people were left injured and in urgent need of care.
The IDF also severely damaged the hospital’s oxygen generators overnight, leaving only two inexperienced surgeons available to perform life-saving procedures, Abu Saifya added.
The IDF stated that it was continuing operations against “terror infrastructure” in the Jabaliya area, which is adjacent to Kamal Adwan Hospital, and that coordinated efforts were underway with international organizations to transfer patients, medical staff, and companions to other hospitals in Gaza.
A United Nations official confirmed that no official evacuation order was issued before the raid. “People tried to climb the hospital wall to escape, which caused panic and attracted fire from the IDF,” said Rik Peeperkorn, the UN health representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
