Palestinian territories:
Israel attacked tents housing displaced civilians near a hospital in the southern city of Rafah on Saturday, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more, the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza said.
The Israeli army said it carried out “precision strikes” in the hospital area, targeting Islamic Jihad militants.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on social media platform X that the reported strike was “outrageous and indescribable.”
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for the UAE Ministry of Health, said in a statement that an explosion near the UAE Maternity Hospital killed a caregiver and injured children.
“Israeli forces attacked the tents of displaced people near the Emirati hospital, killing 11 citizens and injuring about 50 people, including children,” Kudela said.
Videos posted on social media, which AFP could not independently verify, showed blood-stained bodies in the streets, crowds gathering and men carrying the injured away for treatment.
An AFP reporter saw the injured being taken on stretchers to Kuwait Hospital, also in Rafah.
“There is destruction everywhere and there are many martyrs,” said Belal Abu Jekhleh, a resident of Rafah.
“Suddenly the glass shattered and a fire broke out. Everyone fled, some were martyred and some were injured. My hands and head were injured, and my brother was also injured.”
The Israeli army confirmed the attack occurred near the hospital.
“This precision strike targeted Islamic jihadist terrorists and did not cause any damage to hospitals in the area,” the military said in a statement.
Since the Israeli army launched its offensive in the Palestinian territories, they have carried out numerous operations in and around hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas militants of using the hospital for military purposes, a charge the Palestinian group denies.
An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah, and there are fears there would be mass casualties if Israel planned a ground invasion of the city.
Mediators are scrambling to agree a new truce ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins on March 10 or 11, depending on the lunar calendar.
The war in Gaza broke out on October 7 when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli data.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory military operations against Hamas have killed at least 30,320 people, mostly women and children.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
