Last hospital in North Gaza governorate evacuated after Israeli order

The final hospital offering well being providers within the North Gaza governorate is out of service after the Israeli army ordered its fast evacuation, the ability’s director has mentioned.

Dr Mohammed Salha instructed the BBC sufferers have been evacuated from al-Awda hospital in Jabalia on Thursday night after “two weeks of siege”, and there was now “no well being facility working within the north”.

The Israeli Protection Forces (IDF) is but to answer enquiries.

It comes as efforts proceed to safe a ceasefire. Hamas says it’s “totally reviewing” a US plan, which the White Home has mentioned has been “signed off” by Israel.

US President Donald Trump mentioned on Friday he believed a deal was “very shut”. However Hamas has mentioned the plan doesn’t fulfill its core calls for together with Israel’s dedication to ending the warfare.

The deal would reportedly contain a 60-day pause in combating, with Hamas releasing 28 hostages – alive and lifeless – within the first week, with the remaining 30 hostages freed as soon as a everlasting ceasefire is in place. Greater than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners could be launched, whereas humanitarian assist could be despatched to Gaza by way of the United Nations and different businesses.

Israel has continued its army operation within the territory – not less than 72 individuals have been killed in strikes over the previous 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run well being ministry mentioned on Friday.

On Thursday night, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of areas together with the al-Awda hospital, saying there was terrorist exercise within the area which warranted the IDF to “broaden its offensive exercise”.

In a voice observe to the BBC, Dr Salha mentioned: “We’re actually unhappy that we evacuated the hospital, however the Israeli occupation forces threatened us that if we did not evacuate, they’d enter and kill whoever is inside.

“Or they’d bomb the hospital. We have been considering of the lives of sufferers and our employees.”

Dr Salha mentioned the hospital confronted “plenty of bombing and taking pictures from the tanks” from round midday native time (09:00 GMT) on Thursday.

He acquired a name from the Israeli forces at about 13:00 to evacuate, and initially refused as a result of there have been sufferers in want of healthcare. He supplied to stick with 10 of his employees and evacuate the others, however the army refused, he mentioned.

After seven hours of negotiations, the evacuation occurred at about 20:30.

Employees carried sufferers greater than 300 metres (984 ft) to ambulances parked away from the hospital as a result of surrounding roads have been “completely destroyed”.

Two movies despatched to the BBC by al-Awda hospital employees present individuals, some carrying vests with the hospital’s identify on the again, boarding ambulances and a lorry to the east of the hospital courtyard at sundown, and a convoy of comparable automobiles heading south by way of Jabalia after darkish.

Sufferers have been evacuated to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza Metropolis. Dr Salha instructed the BBC they would offer providers by way of a major well being centre in Gaza Metropolis and mentioned one other is perhaps established in a shelter.

World Well being Group Director-Common Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned the closure of al-Awda meant there was no remaining functioning hospital within the North Gaza governorate, “severing a essential lifeline for the individuals there”.

He additionally reiterated requires civilians and well being staff to be protected saying: “Hospitals must not ever be attacked or militarised.”

Al-Awda hospital was inside an evacuation zone introduced final week, however had nonetheless been functioning, its director beforehand mentioned.

The IDF instructed the BBC final week it was “working within the space towards terror targets”, however that it was “not conscious of any siege on the hospital itself”.

An announcement from 18 charities on Thursday mentioned the hospital had been beneath army besiegement “for the fourth time since October 2023 and has been struck not less than 28 occasions”.

The emergency room was hit, injuring 4 employees, and the desalination plant and storage unit have been additionally struck, resulting in the lack of all drugs, provides and gear, the charities mentioned.

UN humanitarian company OCHA mentioned there have been – aside from hospitals – solely 61 of 158 major healthcare centres partially or totally purposeful in Gaza.

9 out of 27 UN Palestinian refugee company well being centres have been additionally functioning. OCHA didn’t report what number of, if any, centres have been within the North Gaza governorate.

Israel started to permit a restricted quantity of assist into Gaza final week, after a virtually three-month blockade halted the supply of provides together with meals, drugs, gasoline and shelter.

Scenes of chaos have damaged out at assist distribution centres run by the Gaza Humanitarian Basis (GHF) – a US and Israeli-backed group.

The UN and lots of assist teams have refused to co-operate with the GHF’s plans, which they are saying contradict humanitarian ideas.

The pinnacle of Docs With out Borders (MSF), Christopher Lockyear, referred to as the plan “ineffective” and mentioned essentially the most weak have “nearly no likelihood” of accessing provides.

GHF mentioned it had distributed six truckloads of meals on Friday and plans to construct extra websites, together with in northern Gaza, within the weeks forward.

Israel mentioned it imposed the blockade on Gaza to pressurise Hamas to launch the remaining hostages, not less than 20 of whom are believed to be alive. It has additionally accused Hamas of stealing assist, which the group denies.

The UN condemned the looting on Friday of enormous quantities of medical assist at a discipline hospital in central Gaza.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-Common António Guterres, mentioned a gaggle of “armed people” stormed “the warehouses at a discipline hospital in Deir al-Balah, “looting” the help “meant for malnourished kids”.

The UN humanitarian company earlier warned once more that the complete inhabitants of Gaza was susceptible to famine, accusing Israel of blocking all however a trickle of assist from coming into the territory.

A UN-backed evaluation this month mentioned Gaza’s 2.1 million individuals have been at a “essential threat” of famine. The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher instructed the BBC individuals within the territory have been being subjected to “pressured hunger” by Israel.

On Friday, an OCHA spokesman, Jens Laerke, referred to as Gaza “the hungriest place on earth”.

Israel is dealing with worldwide stress to permit in additional assist.

French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned on Friday “we must harden our collective place” if Israel doesn’t do extra “within the coming hours and days”.

Israel’s international ministry hit again on social media, saying “there is no such thing as a humanitarian blockade” and accused Macron of continuous a “campaign towards the Jewish state”.

Some protesters in Israel tried to block assist vehicles from coming into Gaza, with one saying assist shouldn’t be allowed in till Hamas returned the hostages and accepted a US-proposed ceasefire.

Israel launched a army marketing campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas’s cross-border assault on 7 October 2023, wherein about 1,200 individuals have been killed and 251 others have been taken hostage.

A minimum of 54,321 individuals have been killed in Gaza since then, together with 4,058 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, in keeping with the Hamas-run well being ministry.

Further reporting by Naomi Scherbel-Ball and Alice Cuddy in Jerusalem. Verification by Richard Irvine-Brown