3 Hospitals In Northern Gaza Strip Given 24 Hours To Evacuate: Health Ministry

GAZA STRIP (Palestine), Oct 9 (Bernama-Anadolu) - The Israeli army ordered the evacuation of patients and staff at three hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Tuesday.

Israel “demands the evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, and Al-Awda Hospital from patients and health personnel,” it said in a statement.

The army threatened the hospitals with "destruction, killing, and arrest" if they did not evacuate, similar to what happened at the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City which has been besieged for weeks at a time since last November, it added.

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The ministry warned that the Kamal Adwan Hospital could stop functioning within hours because of a lack of fuel.

Gaza health officials pleaded for "serious protection for health institutions and their staff, especially in the northern Gaza Strip."

Hossam Abu Safia, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said in an audio recording sent to reporters that "the Israeli army has given them 24 hours to completely evacuate the hospital of patients and health staff."

"The army communicated directly and threatened us, saying we must evacuate the hospital or we would put ourselves in danger,” he said.

Abu Safia described the Israeli move as dangerous, threatening the "collapse of the health care system in the northern Gaza Strip" and expressed concerns about a potential new plan to displace residents of northern Gaza by incapacitating the health care system.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack by Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU