At least 30 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, hospital hit, says Gaza ministry
By Nidal Al-Mughrabi
October 31, 2024
Palestinians assist casualties following an Israeli strike, in Beit Lahiya
Palestinians assist casualties following an Israeli strike, amid the Israel-Hamas
conflict, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip October 30, 2024.
CAIRO, Oct 31 (Reuters) - At least 30 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military
strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, mostly in the north where one attack
hit a hospital, torching medical supplies and disrupting operations, the
enclave's health officials said.
Israel's military has accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas of using
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya for military purposes and said "dozens of
terrorists" have been hiding there. Health officials and Hamas deny the charge.
Northern Gaza, where Israel said in January it had dismantled Hamas'
command structure, is currently the main focus of the military's assault in the
enclave. Earlier this month it sent tanks into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit
Lahiya to flush out militants it said had regrouped in the area.
Eid Sabbah, director of nursing at Kamal Adwan - which is in Beit Lahiya - told
Reuters some staff had suffered minor burns after the Israeli strike hit the third
floor of the hospital.
There were no reports of any casualties at the hospital, which Israeli forces
stormed and briefly occupied last week. Israel said it had captured around 100
suspected Hamas militants in that raid. Israeli tanks are still stationed nearby.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip called for all international
bodies "to protect hospitals and medical staff from the brutality of the (Israeli)
occupation".
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The Israeli military has said its forces are operating in the hospital area based
on intelligence about the presence of terrorists and terror infrastructure in the
vicinity.
"During the operation, it was found that dozens of terrorists were hiding in the
hospital, with some even posing as hospital staff," said the military in a
statement following Thursday's strike.
Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Thursday that one of
its doctors at the hospital, Mohammed Obeid, had been detained last Saturday
by Israeli forces. It called for the protection of him and all medical staff who "are
facing horrific violence as they try to provide care".
The Gaza war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023,
killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to
Israeli tallies.
Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians
and reduced most of the enclave to rubble, Palestinian authorities say.
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Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi Additional reporting by Emma
Farge Editing by Gareth Jones
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