An Israeli air strike has destroyed part of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, the last functioning hospital in Gaza City.
Witnesses said the strike destroyed the intensive care and surgery departments of the hospital.
Video posted online appeared to show huge flames and smoke rising after missiles hit a two-storey building. People, including some patients still in hospital beds, were filmed rushing away from the site.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted the hospital because it contained a “command and control center used by Hamas”. No casualties were reported, according to Gaza’s civil emergency service.
However, one child who previously suffered a head injury died as a result of “the rushed evacuation process”, according to a statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which is affiliated to the hospital.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said the building was “completely destroyed”, leading to the “forced displacement of patients and hospital staff”.
The IDF said it had taken steps “to mitigate harm to civilians or to the hospital compound, including issuing advanced warnings in the area of the terror infrastructure, the use of precise munitions, and aerial surveillance”.
A local journalist, who was working at the hospital, said the IDF had phoned a doctor who was operating in the emergency department and asked them to evacuate the hospital immediately.
“All patients and displaced people must go out to a safe distance,” the officer reportedly said.
“You have only 20 minutes to leave.”
Footage on social media showed staff and patients leaving the building while it was still dark outside.
Dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, were also seen fleeing from a courtyard inside the hospital where they had been seeking shelter.
