UPDATE 1-Israeli army forces patients out of north Gaza hospital, medics say

(Adds army comment on hospital in paragraphs 8 and 9)

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO, Dec 24 (Reuters) – Israeli troops forced the evacuation of the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza and many patients, some of them on foot, arrived at another hospital miles away in Gaza City, the territory’s health ministry said on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Hospital is one of the Gaza Strip’s few still partially functioning hospitals, on its northern edge, an area that has been under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months.

Israel says its operation around the three northern Gaza communities surrounding the hospital – Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia – is targeting Hamas militants.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.

Munir Al-Bursh, director of the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, said the Israeli army had ordered hospital officials to evacuate it on Monday, before storming it in the early hours of Tuesday and forcing those inside to leave.

He said two other medical facilities in northern Gaza, Al-Awda and Kamal Adwan Hospitals, were also subject to frequent assaults by Israeli troops.

Israeli forces have operated in the vicinity of the Kamal Adwan hospital since Monday, medics said.

An Israeli security official said the area was a Hamas stronghold.

“Kamal Adwan is at the heart of the most complex fighting in Jabaliya,” he said. “We are being very careful.”

Officials at the three hospitals have refused orders by Israel to evacuate their facilities or leave patients unattended since the new military offensive began on Oct. 5.

Israel says it has been facilitating the delivery of medical supplies, fuel and the transfer of patients to other hospitals in the enclave during that period in collaboration with international agencies such as the World Health Organization.

Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said they resisted a new order by the army to evacuate hundreds of patients, their companions and staff, adding that the hospital has been under constant Israeli fire that damaged generators, oxygen pumps and parts of the building.

NEW STRIKES

Meanwhile, Israeli bombardment continued elsewhere in the enclave and medics said at least nine Palestinians, including a member of the civil emergency service, were killed in four separate military strikes on Tuesday.

The war in Gaza was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s campaign against Hamas has since killed more than 45,200 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.

A new bid by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the fighting and release Israeli and foreign hostages has gained momentum this month, though no breakthrough has been reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said progress had been made in hostage negotiations with Hamas but that he did not know how much longer it would take to see the results.

Gaps between Israel and Hamas over a possible Gaza ceasefire have narrowed, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials’ remarks on Monday, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved. (Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ed Osmond)

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