A missile strike has obliterated the intensive care and surgery units of Al-Ahli Hospital, Gaza City’s main remaining medical facility, according to Hamas officials.
Videos circulating online showed intense flames and thick plumes of smoke pouring from the hospital’s two-story structure. Patients, including those still lying in hospital beds, were seen fleeing the site amid the chaos.
A journalist present at the scene claimed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called a hospital doctor to warn of an impending strike, allegedly giving them just 20 minutes to evacuate the facility.
“Everyone patients, medical staff, and displaced civilians must evacuate to a safe distance,” the officer reportedly said.
The journalist added that people were seen scrambling out of the hospital while it was still dark, including families taking shelter in the courtyard.
The civil emergency service reported no casualties as of yet.
Al-Ahli, once a relatively small hospital, is currently the only functioning health facility in Gaza City after Al-Shifa and several other hospitals in the north were destroyed.
The Hamas-run media office condemned the incident, calling it a “heinous act” and accusing Israel of targeting a facility filled with the sick and wounded.
A similar strike on Al-Ahli in October 2023 resulted in hundreds of deaths.
While Palestinian officials blamed Israel, the Israeli government attributed that explosion to a failed missile launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad a claim the group denied.
Israel began its military campaign against Hamas after the October 7, 2023, cross-border assault that left about 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 hostages taken.
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry, over 50,933 people have since died in Gaza, with 1,563 killed since the resumption of Israel’s offensive on March 18.