Israel orders evacuation of largest hospital in Southern Gaza

Palestinians say Israeli forces have ordered thousands of displaced people to evacuate the largest hospital in the South of the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s military said it had opened a secure route for civilians, but did not intend to evacuate patients and medics.

Doctors and health officials say a number of people there have been killed by Israeli sniper fire in recent days.

The reported deaths came as battles between Israeli troops and Hamas fighters raged in the vicinity of the hospital, which the UN says has been under siege for around a week and is only minimally functional.

Intense hostilities have also been reported around the nearby Al-Amal hospital, which the Palestinian Red Crescent said was raided last week after some 8,000 displaced people and patients complied with an order to evacuate.

The Israeli military has previously accused Hamas fighters of operating from inside and around the two hospitals, a claim that the armed group and medical officials have denied.

The Israeli military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign after Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 other people hostage.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 28,500 people have been killed in the territory since then, including at least 103 in the past 24 hours.