Israeli Offensive in Gaza Threatens Hospitals

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza (File photo/AFP)
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza (File photo/AFP)
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Israeli Offensive in Gaza Threatens Hospitals

Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza (File photo/AFP)
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza (File photo/AFP)

A large-scale Israeli operation in northern Gaza which killed and wounded dozens of people is threatening to shut down three hospitals over a year into the war with Hamas, Palestinian officials and residents said Wednesday.

So far, Israel’s offensive has gutted Gaza’s health sector, forcing most of its hospitals to shut down and leaving the rest only partially functioning.

The director of Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza City, Fadel Naeem said three hospitals farther north — Kamal Adwan, Awda and the Indonesian Hospital - have become almost inaccessible because of the fighting, The AP reported.

The Gaza Health Ministry says the Israeli army has ordered all three to evacuate staff and patients. Meanwhile, no humanitarian aid has entered the north since Oct. 1, according to UN data.

Hospitals are under threat, said Naeem, noting that Al-Ahly Hospital had received dozens of wounded people and bodies from the north.

“We declared a state of emergency, suspended scheduled surgeries, and discharged patients whose conditions are stable," he said.



Two Killed in Northern Israel by Hezbollah Rocket Fire

Rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
Rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
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Two Killed in Northern Israel by Hezbollah Rocket Fire

Rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
Rockets are launched from Lebanon towards Israel, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, October 8, 2024. REUTERS/Ayal Margolin

Two people were killed in a town in northern Israel that was hit by rocket fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon on Wednesday, Israeli authorities said.

Israel's ambulance service said that a man and a woman had been killed in the town of Kirya Shmona, Reuters reported.

The military said about 20 projectiles had been launched from Lebanon in the barrage.

Rocket sirens sounded constantly across northern Israel on Wednesday, including in the major port city of Haifa, following heavy fire from Lebanon. Israel's military said about 40 projectiles were launched in one barrage at Haifa, some of which were intercepted while others fell in the area.

This came as Hezbollah said on Wednesday its fighters had pushed back advancing Israeli troops in clashes along the length of the border.
The group said it had fired several rocket salvos at Israeli troops near the village of Labbouneh in the western part of the border area, close to the Mediterranean coast, and had managed to push them back.
Further east, it said it had attacked Israeli soldiers in the village of Maroun el-Ras and fired missile barrages at Israeli forces advancing towards the twin border villages of Mays al-Jabal and Mouhaybib.

Israel meanwhile launched airstrikes including at targets far from the border combat zone. The Lebanese health ministry said four people were killed and 10 wounded by a strike that hit the town of Wardaniyeh, north of Sidon along the coast.
The escalation in Lebanon, after a year of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has raised fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could suck in Iran and Israel's superpower ally the United States.