Israeli ground forces have surrounded Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, intensifying their military push amid a renewed offensive that has drawn international scrutiny and humanitarian concern. The encirclement began late Saturday as part of what the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) described as a targeted operation against suspected militant infrastructure embedded within civilian areas. Al-Awda, one of the last functioning hospitals in the region, now faces a dire crisis, with over 200 patients and medical staff trapped inside under increasingly precarious conditions.
Witnesses reported heavy shelling and drone activity around the hospital's perimeter, with ambulances turned back and communication lines severely disrupted. Doctors inside have issued urgent pleas for safe corridors to evacuate the wounded and replenish dwindling medical supplies. “We are operating with minimal electricity, no running water, and under the constant fear of being hit,” said Dr. Samir Hassan, a senior surgeon at the facility. “Patients on ventilators cannot be moved. If the power goes, they die.”
The IDF claims the hospital is being used by Hamas operatives as a command center and weapons storage site, a charge hospital administrators vehemently deny. “We are not a military site—we are a lifeline,” one hospital spokesperson said in a statement released through humanitarian partners.
The siege comes as part of a broader Israeli ground campaign that resumed last week after a brief lull, with intense operations reported in Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and parts of central Gaza. The renewed push follows intelligence reports suggesting Hamas has regrouped in certain urban pockets, prompting Israel to launch what it terms “surgical strikes” supported by infantry and armored units.
The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate rapidly. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that at least 30,000 civilians in northern Gaza have been displaced in the past 48 hours alone. Relief agencies have been largely unable to access key conflict zones, with aid convoys stalled at border crossings due to security concerns and logistical chaos.
International reactions have been swift. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a statement condemning any military action that jeopardizes medical infrastructure. “Hospitals are not battlefields,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities around healthcare facilities.”
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to broker a new ceasefire have stalled. Talks in Cairo involving Egyptian and Qatari mediators ended inconclusively, with both Israeli and Hamas representatives blaming each other for intransigence.
As Israeli troops tighten their grip around Al-Awda, fears grow that the hospital could become the site of yet another catastrophic episode in a war that has already claimed thousands of lives. Despite calls from the international community for restraint, the situation remains fluid, and with every passing hour, the humanitarian cost continues to mount.
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