Israeli attacks put all hospitals in north Gaza ‘out of service,’ health officials say

IRNA – Islamic Republic News Agency

May 18, 2025

All public hospitals in northern Gaza are “out of service” after Israeli forces besieged and attacked the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahiya, the Health Ministry said.

“The Israeli occupation has intensified its siege with heavy fire around the Indonesian hospital and its surroundings, preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies — effectively forcing the hospital out of service,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Indonesian hospital was the last major medical facility to shut down in the area after Kamal Adwan and Beit Hanoun hospitals were previously forced to close due to Israeli attacks.

“All public hospitals in the North Gaza governorate are now out of service,” the health ministry said.

The attacks on hospitals come as the Israeli army has ramped up its airstrikes across Gaza, with health authorities reporting at least 103 deaths.

Nasser Hospital reported on Sunday that more than 48 people had died due to strikes in and around the southern city of Khan Younis. Hospital spokesperson Weam Fares said the victims included 18 children and 13 women.

The Gaza Health Ministry’s emergency services confirmed that an attack on a home in the Jabaliya refugee camp killed nine members of a single family in northern Gaza.

Another strike in the same area claimed 10 lives, including seven children and a woman, according to civil defense officials.

First responders reported at least 43 deaths from multiple strikes across the north, with Shifa Hospital saying that 15 children and 12 women were among the casualties.

In central Gaza, hospitals recorded at least 12 fatalities from three separate strikes. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital noted that an attack in Zweida killed seven, including two children and four women. Another strike in Deir al-Balah claimed the lives of a couple and their child, while an attack in the Nuseirat camp killed two people, according to Awda Hospital.

The casualties mount as Israel has intensified its offensive to seize more territory, forcibly relocate Palestinians to Gaza’s south, and tighten the blockade on aid distribution.

Israel broke a fragile ceasefire in mid-March with deadly airstrikes and has since maintained a blockade on Gaza, cutting off food, medicine, and fuel to the enclave.

3266**4353