Last Remaining Hospital in Northern Gaza Forcibly Evacuated By Israeli Military, Set on Fire

The last remaining hospital in Northern Gaza was forcibly evacuated by the Israel Defense Forces then set on fire, according to multiple news outlets.

The IDF gave 350 medical personnel, patients and family members 15 minutes to evacuate the last hospital in the area before it warned it would enter and arrest anyone who remained, according to NBC News.

"The operating and surgical departments, laboratory, maintenance and emergency units have been completely burned, and the fire is now spreading to the buildings," Gaza's Health Ministry said in a statement obtained by NBC News.

Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the hospital's director, said the IDF was "burning all the operating departments in the hospital" with medical staff still inside. He added some staff members were also arrested.

A widely shared video on X showed half-dressed male staff members leaving the hospital blindfolded and with their arms up, surrounded by the rubble of their former city.

The IDF told NBC News it targeted the hospital after receiving information about "the presence of terrorist infrastructure and operatives carrying out terror activities" inside, but that has not been confirmed.

Kamal Adwan Hospital has been under siege for weeks, with the IDF sending explosive robots to detonate near it in addition to targeted drone strikes on homes near the area. On Thursday, 50 people, including five medical personnel, were killed in an Israeli strike.

On Christmas, the IDF also struck and killed a press van carrying five Palestinian journalists, all five of whom burned to death, the BBC reported. One of the journalists was waiting for his wife to give birth to their first child inside the hospital.