Israel intensifies assault as troops raid hospital in north Gaza, says Hamas-run health ministry

The Hamas-runhealth ministry on Tuesday (Dec 12) released a statement saying that the Israeli troops were raiding a hospital in the north of the Palestinian territory.

"Israeli occupation forces are storming Kamal Adwan hospital after besieging and bombing it for days," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

Al-Qudra said that the armed forces were assembling men in the hospital courtyard, including medical staff.

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"We fear their arrest and the arrest of the medical teams or their killing," the health ministry spokesman added, calling for international intervention.

The United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA alleged that at least two mothers had lost their lives when the maternity department of Kamal Adwan Hospital was reportedly hit on Monday.

"The hospital remains surrounded by Israeli troops and tanks, and fighting with armed groups has been reported in its vicinity for three consecutive days," OCHA said.

It said the hospital was "currently accommodating 65 patients, including 12 children in the intensive care unit and six newborns in incubators".

"About 3,000 internally displaced persons remain trapped in the facility and are awaiting evacuation with extreme shortages of water, food and power reported," it added.

Israeli military has previously raided other medical facilities in Gaza including Al-Shifa, the territory's largest hospital.

As per the United Nations, at present there is only one hospital in northern Gaza which can admit the patients.

Israeli tanks and warplanes on Tuesday (Dec 12) hit war-torn southern Gaza while the United Nations expressed concerns over aid supplies drastically running short for affected Palestinians due to the intense fighting between the two warring sides, which is now in its third month.

The residents in Khan Younis, the southern city of Gaza which was stormed by the Israeli army last week, said that now the tank shelling was targeted on the city centre.

One of the residents, as per news agency Reuters reports, said that the tanks on Tuesday were operating in the street where the house of Yahya Al-Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, is located.

Israel's counter-offensive on Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas has till now claimed the lives of at least 18,205 Palestinians and injured nearly 50,000 since Oct 7, according to the Gaza-run health ministry.

Biden says Netanyahu's government does not want two-state solution

United States President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was against a two-state solution with the Palestinians and called on the Israeli PM to change his government.

"Bibi's got a tough decision to make," Biden said, referring to Netanyahu and his hardline right-wing government.

"This is the most conservative government in Israel's history," he said, adding that the Israeli government "doesn't want a two-state solution."

He further said that Israel had started to lose support from around the globe and that Netanyahu "has to strengthen and change" the Israeli government to find a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu, after a conversation with Biden said that there was "disagreement" between the allies over "the day after Hamas", i.e. the vision for a post-war Gaza.

The Israeli premier said he hoped "we will reach agreement here" but he vowed not to "repeat the mistake of Oslo," referring to the 1993 peace accords signed in the United States.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.