An official at North Gaza Hospital sounded the alarm as the building faced Israeli bombardment “from all directions” after orders were issued to evacuate it, while ceasefire negotiations continued.
One of the few hospitals in Gaza that is still partially operational is located in an area that has been under intense Israeli military pressure for nearly three months. She requested urgent assistance after being exposed to Israeli fire.
“We face a constant daily threat,” Hossam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said on Monday. He added, “The bombing continues from all directions, targeting the building, departments, and employees.”
The Israeli army did not immediately comment.
Meanwhile, medics said that at least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli raids across the Strip on Monday.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently evacuate northern Gaza in order to create a buffer zone, which Israel denies.
Israel says its operation around the three communities on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip – Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia – targets Hamas activists.
UN humanitarian aid official Tom Fletcher said that Israeli forces had hampered efforts to deliver much-needed aid in northern Gaza.
“Northern Gaza has been subject to an almost complete siege for more than two months, raising the specter of famine,” he said on Monday.
He added, “Southern Gaza is extremely overcrowded, creating appalling living conditions and greater humanitarian needs as winter approaches.”
It appears that the gaps in the truce agreement are narrowing
The gaps between Israel and Hamas over a potential ceasefire in Gaza have narrowed, according to statements by Israeli and Palestinian officials on Monday, although crucial differences have not yet been resolved.
A new attempt by mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States to end the fighting and release Israeli and foreign hostages gained momentum this month, although no progress has been reported so far.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that progress has been made in ongoing hostage negotiations with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Gaza but he does not know how long it will take to see results.
Talks to broker a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas have resumed in Cairo, and sources close to the negotiations say it is possible to sign an agreement in the coming days. Palestinians in southern Gaza say they hope this round of talks will see the war end so that life can resume.
During a speech he delivered in the Israeli Knesset, Netanyahu said that Israel had achieved “great achievements” militarily on several fronts, and that the military pressure on Hamas prompted its leaders to ease their previous demands.
Amid harassment by opposition members, the Prime Minister said that Israel had strengthened its position as a “regional power.”
A Palestinian official familiar with the talks said that although some sticking points have been resolved, the identity of some Palestinian prisoners that Israel will release in exchange for hostages, as well as the exact deployment of Israeli forces in Gaza, have yet to be agreed upon.
The duration of the ceasefire was a major sticking point during several rounds of failed negotiations. Hamas wants to end the war, while Israel wants to end Hamas’ rule of Gaza first.
The Palestinian official said, “The issue of completely ending the war has not yet been resolved.”
The war was sparked by an October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken in Gaza, according to Israeli statistics.
The Israeli campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed more than 45,200 Palestinians since then, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the 2.3 million people were displaced, and much of Gaza was reduced to rubble.
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