The Israeli military said on Sunday that it had conducted an airstrike on the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, stating that the target was a Hamas command centre operating inside the facility.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet intelligence agency, the Islamist militant group had been using the hospital to plan and launch attacks, including operations targeting Israeli civilians.
The IDF stated that precautionary measures, such as advance warnings, were taken to minimize civilian harm. No injuries were reported.
Witnesses told dpa that hospital staff had been instructed to evacuate before the strike, with the Palestinian news agency WAFA reporting that only 18 minutes were given.
Patients were reportedly left waiting in cold conditions outside the facility. One hospital building was destroyed and fires broke out following the airstrike, WAFA added. Al-Ahli has served as a key medical centre in northern Gaza in recent months.
The hospital strike was part of a broader escalation in Israeli military operations over the weekend.
A military spokesperson said the Israeli Air Force had hit more than 90 targets across the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, including weapons depots, terrorist cells, missile launch sites and command centres.
In Israel, rocket sirens were triggered in Tel Aviv and across central parts of the country on Sunday evening, as an incoming projectile fired from Yemen was apparently successfully intercepted by defences, according to the Israeli military.
A military spokesman said the rocket was likely launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, which has repeatedly targeted Israel. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Earlier in the day, a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The military later announced plans to strike what it said was the suspected launch site in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza.
Ground operations continued in the southern Gaza Strip, particularly in the Rafah region and the Morag Corridor. The Israeli military again urged residents of Khan Younis to evacuate on Sunday, warning of impending attacks and stating that extreme force would be used against any missile launch sites.
Meanwhile, seven people were reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Palestinian medics provided the casualty figures, though the identities of the victims were not immediately released. The Israeli military said it was investigating the report.
Israel resumed military operations in Gaza on March 18, following the collapse of a two-month ceasefire. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas and allied factions launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 250 others.
Israel’s subsequent campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health authority, and caused vast destruction with an immense humanitarian impact.
While the figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, human rights organizations have raised concern over the significant number of women and children among the casualties.
People check the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab hospital, in Gaza City. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa