Gaza: Israeli forces have advanced deeper into the Gaza Strip and blew up the only specialised cancer hospital in the war-torn territory, as Israeli leaders vowed to capture more land until Hamas releases its remaining hostages.
The hospital was located in the Netzarim Corridor, a band that splits Gaza in two and was controlled by Israeli troops for most of the 17-month-long war. Israel moved to retake the corridor this week shortly after breaking the ceasefire with Hamas. The truce had delivered relative calm to Gaza since late January and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages.
The Israeli military said it struck the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which was inaccessible to doctors and patients during the war, because Hamas militants were operating in the site. Turkey, which helped build and fund the hospital, said Israeli troops at one point used it as a base.
Dr. Zaki Al-Zaqzouq, head of the hospital’s oncology department, said a medical team visited the facility during the ceasefire and found that, while it had suffered damage, some facilities remained in good condition.
“I cannot fathom what could be gained from bombing a hospital that served as a lifeline for so many patients,” he said in a statement issued by the aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians
Around 600 Palestinians have been killed since Israel relaunched the war with a wave of predawn airstrikes across Gaza on Tuesday, which came as many families slept or prepared to start the daily fast for the holy month of Ramadan.
Israel had already cut off the supply of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza’s roughly 2 million Palestinians, aiming to pressure Hamas over the ceasefire negotiations.
The attack by Hamas-led militants on October 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Most of the hostages have been freed in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the bodies of dozens more.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
