Reports say Israeli bulldozers have buried alive numerous displaced, ill, and wounded Palestinians near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Minister Dr. Mai al Kaila swiflty responded to the reports, calling for an immediate investigation into the actions of the Israeli army at the hospital.
“There needs to be an urgent probe into these reports,” Dr Mai al Kaila said in a statement.
Witness accounts from Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza suggest that Israeli bulldozers crushed individuals on the hospital grounds.
Meanwhile, the UN mission to al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza has described the emergency department as a “bloodbath.”
As per the UN team members, individuals with traumatic injuries are being stitched up while lying on the ground, there is a scarcity of pain relief options in the hospital, and the emergency department is so overcrowded that staff members need to be cautious not to inadvertently step on patients on the floor.
The Wold Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday expressed its commitment to strengthening Al-Shifa Hospital in the coming weeks in order to bring the facility to at least basic functionality, provide critically needed lifesaving services, and serve “a besieged people trapped in a cycle of death, destruction, hunger, and disease.”
WHO staff on the UN team said only a handful of doctors and nurses, along with 70 volunteerts, are currently working under “unbelievably challenging circumstances” at al-Shifa Hospital which they described as “in need of resuscitation.”
Since 7 October, Isreal has killed over 18,800 Palestinians in Gaza, and wounded over 51,000.
On Saturday, Israeli snipers killed two civilians in church in Gaza on Saturday while three people were shot dead in separate raids in the occupied West Bank.
A sniper” of the Israeli army “murdered two Christian women inside the Holy Family Parish in Gaza” where Christian families have been sheltering since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, the patriarchate said in a statement.
Israeli bombardments continue to hit residential homes in Rafah and claimed at least 12 lives in central and southern Gaza.
In another development, more information has surfaced on an attack on the refugee camp in Nur Shams. Social media footage, verified by Al Jazeera, shows Israeli forces blocking ambulances, preventing medics from reaching the site in the occupied West Bank. Two Palestinians, Mahmoud Samer Jaber, 22, and Ghayth Yasser Shahada, 25, reportedly died due to their injuries as rescue operations faced obstacles. Wafa news agency reported the arrest of a volunteer paramedic during the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the conflict as an “existential war” during a televised press conference on Saturday. Despite increasing pressure and costs, Netanyahu pointed out the need to fight until victory and pledged to demilitarise Gaza, bringing it under Israeli security control.
Netanyahu’s statements come in the wake of an incident where Israeli forces mistakenly killed three captives, one of whom was reportedly holding a white flag. He pointed to the role of intense military pressure in securing a partial hostage-release deal in November and pledged to maintain this pressure for successful negotiations. The Israeli premier’s comments follow a meeting between the chief of Mossad and the Prime Minister of Qatar.
Qatar mediated between Israel and Hamas, leading to a seven-day truce and a hostage exchange last month.