Israeli occupation forces besieged two major hospitals in Gaza City on Monday, targeting them with artillery fire despite the presence of patients and displaced civilians inside, according to unnamed medical sources cited by the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
Al-Shifa Hospital and Al-Helou International Hospital remain under heavy bombardment, making entry and exit impossible, the sources told WAFA. Communication has been lost with medical teams inside Al-Shifa, where 12 newborns are still trapped.
Israeli tanks have encircled Al-Helou Hospital, pushing medical staff and patients to shelter in lower floors. The hospital houses a cancer ward, and a neonatal unit with 12 premature infants. More than 90 people, including doctors and patients, remain trapped inside, with no access to communications or the internet.
The attacks come as the Israeli occupation escalates its ground and air offensive across Gaza in a campaign it says aims to “eliminate Hamas” and gain control over the city. Israeli occupation army officials expect that the ground incursion, which began in mid-September, to last for months.
Gaza's Government Media Office said Israeli forces have carried out 788 direct attacks on medical facilities and staff since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. “The occupation is systematically dismantling Gaza’s health infrastructure,” said media office director Ismail Al-Thawabta, calling the assaults a war crime under international law.
Al-Helou Hospital was hit by two artillery shells, severing internet access and isolating the facility, Al-Thawabta confirmed. He accused Israel of attempting to cut the hospital off from the outside world and deprive civilians of life-saving care.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said 66,055 Palestinians have been killed and 168,346 wounded since the start of the Israeli genocidal campaign in Gaza. The ministry also reported that 1670 health workers have been killed, 197 ambulances destroyed, and 38 hospitals and 96 clinics bombed or rendered non-operational.
As the offensive deepens, thousands of Palestinians continue to flee southward under bombardment, many forced to shelter in overcrowded tents and UN-run schools. But Israeli strikes have followed them even into so-called “safe zones,” raising concerns over the lack of genuine humanitarian corridors.
The health ministry in Gaza counted 361 medical workers currently held in Israeli detention, with no access granted to human rights groups to monitor their conditions.
Despite these developments, US President Donald Trump claimed negotiations to end the war were “in their final stages,” saying a deal could pave the way for broader regional peace.
