Israeli forces leave behind traces of destruction after a days-long siege of one of the last hospitals in Gaza

Israeli forces withdrew from Kamal Advan Hospital In the city of Beit Lahiya, overnight strikes killed at least 30 people after a days-long siege left a trail of destruction inside one of the area’s last medical rescue points, local authorities said.

Troops stormed the hospital last week as the IDF continued its work deadly attack in the north, called one of the “darkest moments” of the conflict by the UN’s chief human rights representative, Volker Turk.

The IDF retreated from the hospital on Saturday, but continued its assault outside. Local authorities said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 30 people and destroyed several houses, including in the Beit Lahiya Al-Hazan neighborhood.

Dr. Munir Abdullah Al-Bursh, director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said Sunday’s strikes on a residential building in Beit Lahiya buried “a large number of people,” accusing the Israel Defense Forces of shooting at the rescuers as they approached the area. NBC News has reached out to the IDF for comment on the allegation.

Al-Bursh said residents were left to dig out survivors with their bare hands. “We have asked them to transport any injured to the nearest hospital by any available means, be it a trolley, tuk-tuk or any other available means,” he said.

Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli forces had detained hundreds of patients, medical staff and displaced Palestinians seeking refuge at Kamal Adwan Hospital, and that only three doctors were working at the hospital on Saturday.

Footage captured by an NBC News crew at the hospital shows equipment, blankets, medical supplies and ceiling panels strewn across the floor, with collapsed furniture blocking doors and walkways.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the situation “catastrophic” with so few staff left to care for “nearly 200 patients”.

“Reports of damage or destruction of medical facilities and medical equipment during the siege are regrettable,” he added.

Kamal Advan is one of the righteous three hospitals cannot operate in the region.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was operating in the area based on intelligence “regarding the presence of terrorist infrastructure” and that it facilitated the evacuation of patients from the area. They did not comment on the detention of medical workers.

The IDF called the overnight explosions in Beit Lahiya a “precision strike using precision munitions” targeting Hamas infrastructure and fighters. NBC could not independently verify the information, and the IDF did not provide details about the targets.

Last week, the local health ministry said on Sunday that at least 87 people were killed in Israeli strikes on residential buildings in Beit Lahia.

The latest attacks come after weeks of intense bombardment of northern Gaza as the Israel Defense Forces surrounded hospitals and refugee camps, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee, fueling fears of a targeted hunger strike campaign.

Joyce Msuya, acting UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that “the entire population of northern Gaza is at risk of death.”

More than 42,000 people have been killed in Gaza and nearly 100,000 injured since Israel launched an offensive following an attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, where on October 7, 2023, around 1,200 were killed and another 250 kidnapped.

Last week, Jordan, one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East, confronted Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during a meeting in London.

The country’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, told Blinken that Israel is carrying out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza. “This has to stop,” he told the American delegation to reporters.

The directors of the CIA and Israel’s Mossad will meet with Qatar’s new prime minister in Doha on Sunday to begin renewed talks on a short-term Gaza cease-fire deal that includes the release of some hostages in exchange for some Palestinian prisoners.