On Thursday morning, one patient was killed and six were injured in connection with Israeli forces storming the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, AP reports.
Al Jazeera reporters say Israeli attacks are ongoing both inside and outside the hospital, while people are trying to escape.
According to Israel’s military (IDF), a raid is being carried out on the hospital. The IDF states that there are credible reports that dead people held hostage by Hamas may be inside the building.
Israeli military previously asked people to leave the hospital. Daniel Hagari, spokesperson for the IDF, says the military will not forcibly evacuate doctors and patients.
Videos on social media show gunshots and people screaming inside smoke-filled hallways at the hospital, Reuters reports.
States that several were injured in shootings
A spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israel has launched a “massive incursion” and that several people staying at the hospital have been injured in gunfire.
International law prohibits, among other things, that buildings for medical care become the target of attacks in war, but the protection may disappear if the buildings are instead used for military purposes, according to AFP.
Israel has recently carried out several attacks against the now overpopulated Rafah, which is also located in southern Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel is planning a massive operation in Rafah to end the terrorist group Hamas.
The attacks have been condemned by the outside world because Rafah served as the last refuge for Palestinians, who no longer have anywhere to go.