Patients and Staff Trapped in Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital Amid Israeli Siege

Amid the ongoing Israeli siege, patients and medical staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza are trapped, facing dire conditions and limited access to essential resources. Learn more about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region.

According to the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza, over 150 patients and staff are currently trapped at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya as it is surrounded by the Israeli military forces, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces conducted a raid on a hospital in northern Gaza on Friday. They instructed patients to relocate to the main courtyard while carrying out mass arrests.

The raid occurred the day after Israeli tanks fired shells at the hospital compound, which is one of the few remaining operational medical facilities in the enclave’s northern region. This event took place as Israel’s siege entered its third week.

The hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safia, reported that the intensive care unit experienced significant damage due to a tank attack. He cautioned that if conditions persist, the hospital might turn into a mass grave since one patient is dying every hour because of the Israeli military offensive.

Tedros Ghebreyesus, the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), described losing communication with hospital staff and labeled the raid as “deeply disturbing.”

On the social media platform X, he posted that the hospital “has been overflowing with close to 200 patients—a constant stream of horrific trauma cases. It is also full of hundreds of people seeking shelter.”

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, stated that witnesses and doctors on the scene reported fires had erupted. This made it challenging for people to evacuate the building and hindered ambulances’ ability to operate effectively.

According to Mahmoud, injured patients and those with various health issues were pulled from the buildings into the hospital courtyard.

“This is occurring just as fuel was anticipated to arrive at the hospital for powering generators,” Mahmoud stated. “It’s difficult to envision how the hospital will maintain its operations now, given it is under direct attack from the Israeli military.”

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He reported a substantial military presence in the area, with numerous Israeli tanks encircling the medical compound.

The Israeli military announced that its forces are ongoing with ground operations throughout the Gaza Strip, reporting they have dismantled infrastructure and tunnel shafts while eliminating fighters in Jabalia in the northern region.

It did not provide any remarks on the current situation concerning the hospitals and camps.

On Monday, the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya, located in northern Gaza, was rendered non-operational. This occurred when Israeli soldiers entered a school and detained the men inside before setting fire to the facility. The blaze eventually reached the hospital’s generators, leading to a power outage.

According to Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud, the rooftop solar panels were damaged as well, “leaving the Indonesian Hospital without any power source,” affecting essential equipment like incubators.

Those evacuated from the Indonesian Hospital were relocated to Kamal Adwan Hospital, a mid-sized facility already struggling with patient overcapacity.

The United Nations reported that it has been unable to access Kamal Adwan, Indonesian, and al-Awda Hospitals in northern Gaza, despite its calls for permission to deliver aid.

The UN Human Rights Office expressed growing concern regarding the way in which the Israeli military is conducting operations in northern Gaza, as well as issues such as unauthorized interference with humanitarian aid and directives causing forced displacement.