For more than two weeks, Israeli forces have laid siege to Al-Amal Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, blocking all roads to the facility and deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis.
The hospital is run by the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which has been raising alarmOpens in a new tab about the 18-day siege, during which at least one Red Crescent volunteer was killed. On Tuesday, Israeli forces ordered thousands of people to evacuate the hospital, most of whom were displaced from other parts of Gaza throughout the monthslong war. Hundreds of medical workers and wounded or disabled patients remain stranded inside.
Last month, the World Health Organization reported that more than 600 people had been killed inside health care facilities since Israel launched a retaliatory war on Gaza on October 7. The “ongoing reduction of humanitarian space plus the continuing attacks on healthcare are pushing the people of Gaza to breaking point,” a WHO spokesperson saidOpens in a new tab.