Announcement from Israeli forces – come out only with your underwear on”.
Israeli forces besieged the al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in southern Gaza, while pressing on with their siege of Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical complex in the Strip.
One of staff members of Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) was killed when Israeli tanks suddenly pushed back into areas around the al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis amid heavy bombardment and gunfire.
According to Al Jazeera’s correspondent from Rafah
“Military vehicles, tanks and attack drones are encircling these two facilities. They’re also blocking the entrance with piles of sand, preventing medical staff, patients and injured people inside from leaving safely and constantly failing to provide a safe corridor for people and evacuees trapped inside the hospital.”
Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for PRCS, told media about Israeli orders to evacuate the facilities, adding that
“at the same time they are firing bombs at the hospital . Everyone inside the hospital [medical staff, patients, the wounded] is trapped since there is very intense and heavy gunfire.”
Mahmoud said people inside al-Amal Hospital were being ordered, via loudspeakers,
“to come out only with their underwear on”.
Reporting from Rafah, Al Jazeera’s correspondent said the two hospitals in Khan Younis have been under Israeli siege for more than 24 hours.
“Gaza has been turned into a graveyard, with hospitals and houses being attacked and destroyed,” he said.
“Israeli forces at al-Amal Hospital have been forcing patients to flee from the hospital under really critical conditions, while there are still patients inside unable to leave as the bombardment and confrontations between Hamas fighters and Israeli soldiers continue.”
The Israeli military said its troops began operating around al-Amal following “precise intelligence … which indicated that terrorists are using civilian infrastructure for terror activities in the area of al-Amal”. Israel alleges that hospitals in Gaza, where the war has been raging for more than five months , are used by Hamas as bases. Israeli authorities have released videos and pic
Hamas and medical staff deny the accusations.
Al-Shifa Hospital under fire
The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said Israeli forces had killed five Palestinian doctors. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Right now, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists are barricading themselves inside Shifa Hospital wards,” said Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, also claiming that gunmen were firing at his soldiers from inside the emergency and maternity wards.
On Monday, the Israeli military claimed to have arrested 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members at al-Shifa Hospital since its week-old operation began.
Ismail al-Thawabta, the director of Gaza’s government media office, said:
“How can they claim this while their soldiers roam and frolic inside the complex with ease, conducting interrogations with displaced persons, patients, and the wounded.”
Jameel al-Ayoubi, who was one of thousands of Palestinians sheltering at the hospital, saw Israeli tanks and armoured bulldozers drive over at least four bodies in the hospital courtyard, The Associated Press news agency reported. Ambulances were also crushed, he said.