Israeli airstrikes destroyed part of a hospital in Gaza City early Sunday, according to local health officials, as Israeli forces continue to pound the enclave’s shattered hospitals even as the humanitarian crisis grows.
There were no casualties in the strike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, according to Gaza health officials, as patients and hospital staff members evacuated following Israeli military orders.
Dr. Fadel Naim, the hospital’s administrative director, told NBC News that it was the last central medical center in Gaza City and was now out of service, adding that the Israeli military strike had attacked a building housing reception and the emergency department, “completely destroying it.”
An image of the blast showed a blinding yellow flash lighting up the night sky as a missile struck, engulfing the hospital in flames.
NBC News verified multiple scenes from Al-Alhi Baptist Hospital showing people in beds being wheeled away from the area, as well as the devastation afterward, including a large hole in one of the walls that might have been part of the hospital facilities and video showing devastation inside the hospital’s church.
The Israeli military said that the compound was used by terrorists “to plan and execute terror attacks,” without providing evidence, and that steps were taken to mitigate harm to civilians before the strike, including issuing warnings.
Naim said there were “no militants or military activity in the building or anywhere in the hospital.”
Hamas called the attack “a new escalation of criminality” and accused Israel of a “systemic series of attacks” on hospitals and schools. It provided a list of 36 hospitals across Gaza it says Israel has attacked since the current conflict began.
As the Palestinian Health Ministry pleaded for international institutions to step into protect Gaza's health sector, several countries condemned the attack, including Egypt, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
Britain's foreign secretary, David Lammy, said on X that Israel had "comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza."
"These deplorable attacks must end," he said.
Israel’s bombardment has shattered the enclave’s hospital system, making it difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians to get basic lifesaving medical help. In December, the United Nations Human Rights Office said Israeli attacks had pushed Gaza’s health care system to “the brink of total collapse.” At least 70% of infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, including hospitals and schools, 60% of homes and 65% of roads, another U.N. report said in February.
Last week, an Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital Complex hit a media tent and killed several people, including Yousef Al-Khozindar, 27, who was working with the NBC News crew, and injured several others.
The Israeli government has also imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has Palestinians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle.
In October 2023, a blast in the parking compound at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, a Christian-run medical complex, killed 200 to 300 people and sparked international outrage as the first recorded instance of an attack on a health facility.
Hamas blamed Israel for the attack, while Israel blamed it on an errant rocket fired by a militant group in Gaza.
That blast happened just 10 days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel and around 250 were taken hostage.
Since then, more than 50,900 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave, amounting to more than 2% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.
Officials say more than 1,500 of them have been killed since March 18, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip after having abandoned the ceasefire.
