Witnesses said the strike destroyed the intensive care and surgery departments of the hospital. Video posted online appeared to show huge flames and smoke rising after missiles hit a two-storey building. People, including some patients still in hospital beds, were filmed rushing away from the site. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted the hospital because it contained a "command and control centre used by Hamas". No casualties were reported, according to Gaza's civil emergency service.
A predawn strike on Al-Ahli Hospital, in Gaza City, was the latest of several attacks on the last major hospital providing critical healthcare in northern Gaza. Hospital director Dr. Fadel Naim said the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, affecting over 100 patients and dozens of staff. He said in a post on X they had been warned in advance. One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation because staff were unable to provide urgent care, Gaza’s Health Ministry said.
The civil defence agency in the Hamas-run territory said Israel’s air force targeted a building of the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City after midnight. The airstrike came “minutes after the (Israeli) army’s warning to evacuate this building of patients, the injured and their companions”, the agency said in a statement. “The bombing led to the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units,” it added.
