Israeli forces besieged two more Gaza hospitals on Sunday, pinning down medical teams under heavy gunfire and forcing the evacuation from one hospital of most patients and displaced people sheltering there, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
Israeli forces say hospitals in the Palestinian enclave where war has been raging for over five months have frequently been used as strongholds of Hamas militants harbouring bases and weapons. Hamas and medical staff deny this.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of its staff was killed when Israeli tanks suddenly pushed back into areas around Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, amid shelling and gunfire.
Israeli armoured forces sealed off Al-Amal Hospital and carried out extensive bulldozing operations in its vicinity, the Red Crescent said in a statement, adding: "All of our teams are in extreme danger at the moment and are completely immobilised."
Hours later, the Red Crescent said all patients who could be moved as well as displaced people who found refuge from fighting in the hospital compound had been evacuated westwards to Al Mawasi, a coastal beach settlement.
Hospital staff remained along with nine severely ill or wounded people and 10 companions as well as a displaced family with special needs, it added. "There is a need to evacuate these patients and wounded (safely)."
Earlier, the Red Crescent said a displaced Palestinian was killed inside the hospital premises by Israeli gunfire.
Khan Younis residents said Israeli forces had also advanced and formed a cordon around Nasser Hospital in western Khan Younis under cover of heavy fire from the air and ground.
Separately, the Israeli military said it had captured 480 militants in a continuing week-long raid into the Palestinian enclave's largest hospital, Al Shifa, in Gaza City in the north of the densely populated strip.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said dozens of patients and medical staffers had been detained by Israeli forces at Al Shifa. The Hamas-run government media office said Israeli forces had killed five Palestinian doctors.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on those reports. It said earlier that it had killed over 170 gunmen in the raid, which the Palestinian Health Ministry said had also caused the deaths of five patients.
UNRWA says Israel halts food convoys to north Gaza
Al Shifa is one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which has received only a trickle of aid in recent months.
On Sunday, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said Israel had informed the UN that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of the enclave.
"This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on social media platform X.
UNRWA, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused a dozen of its staff of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.
The allegations prompted UNRWA's biggest donor, the United States, and some others to pause funding, putting the agency's future in doubt. However, other countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have since restored funding.
Read moreAs donors suspend critical funding to UNRWA, allegations against staff remain murky
UNRWA and Egypt said last week that Lazzarini, who was on a visit to Cairo, was denied entry to Gaza by Israeli authorities.
"By preventing UNRWA to fulfill its mandate in Gaza, the clock will tick faster towards famine & many more will die of hunger, dehydration + lack of shelter," Lazzarini added.
The latest war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas-led Islamist militants broke through the border fence into southern Israel in a shock rampage on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, at least 32,226 Palestinians have been killed and 74,518 injured in a devastating Israeli air and ground offensive that has ravaged most of Gaza and left the overcrowded enclave on the brink of famine.
Concerted mediation by Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States has so far failed to secure a Hamas-Israel ceasefire, prisoner releases and unfettered aid to Gaza civilians facing famine, with each side sticking to core demands.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
