Israeli forces have besieged a hospital in northern Gaza as they continue an offensive to seize territory in the strip, the Hamas-run health ministry has said.
Medical staff and patients at the Indonesian hospital, in Beit Lahia, came under “heavy fire… preventing the arrival of patients, medical staff, and supplies”, the ministry said on Sunday.
Israel’s military on Saturday announced the launch of “Operation Gideon’s Chariot”, amid the deadliest wave of strikes in Gaza in months.
Hamas on Saturday offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce, a Palestinian official told the BBC after new negotiations were held in Qatar.
The health ministry said that three public hospitals were now “out of action” in the North Gaza governorate.
At least 300 people have been killed since Thursday, including at hospitals and refugee camps in the north and south of the Strip, Hamas-run authorities have said.
Strikes on Saturday hit towns in the north of Gaza, including Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Hamas-run health ministry and civil defence forces said.
Thousands have died since Israel resumed strikes on 18 March, following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire which lasted two months.
Israel’s military has said the expansion of its campaign is aimed at “achieving all the war’s objectives” including releasing hostages and “the defeat of Hamas”.
Aid agencies say Gaza’s humanitarian situation has also worsened, as Israel has been blocking supplies of food and other aid from entering the territory for 10 weeks.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month promised a major military escalation in the war to occupy and control swathes of Gaza, force the Palestinian population to the south of the territory, and “destroy” Hamas.
Netanyahu said on 5 May that Israel was preparing an “intense entry into Gaza” to capture and hold territory, but that it would not commence until Trump completed his tour of the Middle East. He left the region on Friday.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which saw about 1,200 people killed and more than 250 taken hostages.
Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
More than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
