Israeli army leaves north Gaza hospital, detains medics: Health ministry

Israeli forces withdrew from a hospital complex in northern Gaza on Saturday, one day after storming it, and the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said the troops had detained dozens of male medical staffers and some of the patients.

Later on Saturday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said at least 30 people were killed in Israeli strikes on several houses in northern Gaza's Beit Lahiya. There was no official confirmation from the health ministry on the death toll.

The Israeli military said it had carried out "a precise strike using precise munitions on Hamas terrorists within a structure in the area of Beit Lahiya in the Gaza Strip. A number of terrorists have been hit in the strike."

It added that the high number of casualties mentioned in the media report did not align with the type of munitions used in the precision attack.

Health officials said on Friday Israeli forces had stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities struggling to operate in the area.

Footage circulated by the health ministry - which Reuters could not immediately verify - showed damage to several buildings after the Israeli forces withdrew.

Medics said at least 44 of the facility's 70-member team at the hospital had been detained by the army. It later said the army had released 14 of them, including the hospital's director.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined comment on the hospital report. On Friday the Israeli military said it operated in the area of the hospital based on intelligence "regarding the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure" there.

Medics said at least two children had died inside the intensive care unit after Israeli fire hit the generators and oxygen station in the facility on Friday.

Medical staffers have refused Israeli army orders to evacuate the hospital or leave their patients unattended. Before the army raid, medics said at least 600 people had been in the hospital, including patients and their escorts.

"The safety and lives of patients who are left inside Kamal Adwan Hospital without medical staff and much-needed medication are at risk now," said Marwan Al-Hams of the health ministry.

Israeli military strikes on the towns of Jabalia, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza have so far killed around 800 people during a three-week offensive, the Gaza ministry added.

Reuters