Final 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 navy ordered its fast evacuation, the hospital’s director has stated.

Dr Mohammed Salha stated sufferers had been evacuated from al-Awda hospital in Jabalia on Thursday night.

He advised the BBC “we’re feeling actually dangerous about this compelled evacuation” after “two weeks of siege”, saying there’s now “no well being facility working within the north”.

Israel has not but commented, however the BBC has contacted the Israeli Protection Forces (IDF).

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

“Or they might bomb the hospital. We had been pondering of the lives of sufferers and our employees.”

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

He obtained 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 one other 10 of his employees and evacuate the others, however the navy refused, he stated.

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

Workers carried sufferers greater than 300 metres (984 ft) to ambulances parked far-off from the hospital “as a result of the roads are completely destroyed”.

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

“As a consequence of impassable roads” the hospital’s medical tools couldn’t be relocated, the World Well being Group (WHO) stated.

UN humanitarian company OCHA stated on Thursday “ongoing hostilities over the previous two weeks have broken the hospital, disrupted entry, and created panic, deterring individuals from in search of care”.

Sufferers had been evacuated to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza Metropolis.

Dr Salha advised the BBC they would offer providers by way of a main well being centre in Gaza Metropolis and stated one other could be established in a shelter.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, stated the closure of al-Awda meant there was no remaining functioning hospital within the North Gaza governorate, “severing a crucial lifeline for the individuals there”.

“WHO pleads for the hospital’s safety and employees and sufferers’ security, and reiterates its name for the energetic safety of civilians and healthcare,” he stated. “Hospitals mustn’t ever be attacked or militarized.”

The IDF had ordered evacuations of the areas of Al-Atatra, Jabalia Al-Balad, Shujaiya, Al-Daraj and Al-Zeitoun on Thursday night, spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on the time on social media.

“Terrorist organisations proceed their subversive exercise within the area, and subsequently the IDF will increase its offensive exercise within the areas the place you might be current to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organisations,” he stated.

“From this second on, the talked about areas might be thought-about harmful fight.”

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

An announcement from 18 charities on Thursday stated the hospital was below navy besiegement “for the fourth time since October 2023 and has been struck at the least 28 occasions”.

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

The IDF advised 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”.

Other than hospitals, some main healthcare centres are nonetheless working in Gaza, with 61 out of 158 partially or absolutely useful as of 18 Might, OCHA stated.

9 out of 27 UN Palestinian refugee company well being centres had been additionally functioning.

OCHA didn’t report what number of, if any, centres had been within the north Gaza governorate.

Israel is continuous its bombardment of Gaza, which most Palestinians should not at the moment capable of depart, after a two-month ceasefire earlier this yr.

No less than 72 individuals had been killed over the previous day, Gaza’s Hamas-run well being ministry stated on Friday.

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

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

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

The secretary-general of Docs With out Borders (MSF), Christopher Lockyear, known as the plan “ineffective” and stated essentially the most weak have “nearly no likelihood” of accessing provides.

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

Israel stated it imposed the blockade on Gaza to pressurise Hamas to launch the remaining hostages, at the least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. It has additionally accused Hamas of stealing support, which the group denies.

A UN-backed evaluation this month stated Gaza’s 2.1 million individuals had been at a “crucial danger” of famine. The UN’s humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher advised the BBC individuals within the territory had been being subjected to “compelled hunger” by Israel.

On Friday, a spokesman from the UN’s humanitarian company OCHA, Jens Laerke, known as Gaza “the hungriest place on earth”.

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

French President Emmanuel Macron stated 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 isn’t any humanitarian blockade” and accused Macron of constant a “campaign towards the Jewish state”.

Some protesters in Israel tried to dam support vehicles from coming into Gaza, with one saying support shouldn’t be allowed till Hamas returns the hostages and accepts a US-proposed ceasefire.

A Hamas official stated the group was “enterprise a radical and accountable overview” of the proposal, however it “fails to satisfy” their calls for.

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

No less than 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 well being ministry.

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