GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza announced on Thursday that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) had forcibly evacuated patients and medical staff from the facility.
In a statement, the hospital said “the IOF troops are currently conducting a forcible evacuation of patients and medical teams from inside Al-Awda Hospital in Tel Al-Zaatar — the only hospital that was still functioning in northern Gaza.”
The hospital emphasized that this move comes after days of siege and repeated attacks on the facility, posing a direct threat to the right to health and life, and constituting a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
Medical sources inside the hospital reported that Israeli forces informed the hospital director, Dr. Mohammad Saleha, of the immediate need to evacuate — despite the presence of at least 160 people inside. As of the time of the report, 97 individuals remained, including 13 patients and injured individuals and 84 medical personnel — with no safe corridor or alternative location available for their relocation.
The Israeli military reportedly detonated booby-trapped robots near the hospital and opened heavy gunfire on the facility and ambulances attempting to evacuate patients, in what appears to be an intimidation tactic to force those inside to evacuate under threat.
This development follows days of direct shelling and gunfire targeting the hospital, part of a broader military escalation in northern Gaza, where the health system has collapsed due to the systematic destruction of hospitals and medical centers.
Earlier, the IOF had imposed a siege on the Indonesian Hospital on May 18, in addition to repeated raids on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north — suggesting a deliberate policy targeting healthcare institutions.
Israel continues to justify its attacks on hospitals by claiming they are used by resistance factions, yet has provided no concrete evidence to support these allegations. International organizations, as well as media investigations, have refuted these claims.
With US and European support, Israel has been carrying out a campaign of genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023 — resulting in over 177,000 Palestinians killed or injured, the majority of whom are women and children, in addition to more than 14,000 missing.
