Gaza’s last functioning hospital bombed as Israel escalates offensive

• An Israeli airstrike destroyed Gaza’s last fully operational hospital, forcing a rushed evacuation and leaving critically ill patients without care.
• The IDF claims the hospital housed Hamas operatives but provides no evidence, violating international law protecting medical facilities.
• Hospital staff described chaotic scenes, including the death of a child due to oxygen deprivation and freezing temperatures.
• The attack follows a pattern of Israeli assaults on Gaza’s healthcare system, now at 10% functionality with critical shortages.
• WHO and other bodies condemn the bombing as a potential war crime, but accountability remains unlikely amid blocked investigations.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed critical sections of Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, the last fully operational medical facility in Gaza City, forcing evacuations with just 18 to 20 minutes’ notice and leaving hundreds of critically ill patients without care. Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as staff rushed to move patients into the streets amid freezing temperatures, leading to the death of at least one child who succumbed to oxygen deprivation and hypothermia.

The strike, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claims targeted a Hamas “command-and-control complex” but provided no evidence for, further cripples a healthcare system already on the brink of collapse after months of attacks. At least 36 hospitals in Gaza have been bombed by Israeli forces, with 37% of essential drugs out of stock and 80,000 diabetic patients cut off from treatment, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Humanitarian catastrophe unfolds

The attack on Al-Ahli—also known as the Baptist Hospital, Gaza’s oldest Christian medical facility—left its surgery building, oxygen generation station, and genetic laboratory in ruins. Video footage showed flames engulfing the hospital’s emergency ward as staff and displaced civilians fled for their lives. Khalil Bakr, who escaped with his three injured daughters, recounted to BBC Arabic: “Only two minutes separated us from death.”

Gaza’s civil defense agency reported that the rushed evacuation forced critically ill patients into the streets without oxygen or proper medical supervision. Among the dead was a child with a head injury, as confirmed by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs the hospital.

A woman sheltering in the hospital, whose husband was undergoing treatment, described the horror to Middle East Eye: “I just wanted to rest… the whole day was filled with the screams of children with severed [body parts]… these sights can drive a person to insanity.”

International law violations

The IDF insists the hospital housed Hamas operatives, but independent investigators, including the World Health Organization (WHO), found no evidence of military activity. Under the Geneva Conventions, hospitals are protected spaces, and targeting them constitutes a potential war crime.

Yet, Israel has systematically degraded Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure. In March 2024, its military raided Al-Shifa Hospital—Gaza’s largest—killing dozens and arresting medical staff. Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last operational facility in northern Gaza before its bombing in December 2024, was left in ruins after Israeli forces set fire to its entrances and detained its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safia.

Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell condemned the Palm Sunday attack on Al-Ahli, calling it “especially appalling” given the hospital’s Christian identity. The WHO reiterated that attacks on healthcare violate international law, yet Israel continues to block aid missions.

The hospital bombing fits a well-documented pattern. On October 17, 2023, an Israeli strike on Al-Ahli’s courtyard killed hundreds, sparking global outrage. Israel initially blamed Palestinian Islamic Jihad for a rocket misfire—a claim contradicted by weapons analysts and eyewitness accounts.

With Gaza’s healthcare system now reduced to 10% functionality, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO warned: “Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law. Attacks on health care must stop.” But as Israeli forces expand their buffer zone into Gaza, displacing 400,000 more civilians, the prospects for accountability dim.

An unending crisis

The bombing of Al-Ahli Hospital underscores the devastating human cost of Israel’s military campaign—one that has displaced, starved, and traumatized an entire population. With journalists and investigators barred from Gaza and misinformation rampant, the truth remains obscured. But the facts on the ground are clear: hospitals, patients, and international law are being obliterated. As one witness implored:
“Fear God; What are you all going to say to God?”

For now, Gaza’s survivors are left with ruins, grief, and the chilling certainty that no one is coming to save them.

Sources for this article include:

MiddleEastEye.net

CNN.com

BBC.com

AlJazeera.com