Critical Gaza Hospital Under Siege as Israeli Forces Order Evacuations Amid Growing Humanitarian Crisis
The Israeli military started a big attack on the Jabalia refugee camp on Wednesday, possibly following a plan that could force everyone in northern Gaza to leave. Earlier in the week, the army dropped leaflets in the camp and other areas of northern Gaza, telling people to move south to the crowded Mawasi "humanitarian zone." This area has been hit many times in the year-long war.
"We ask again that everyone in Jabalia camp leave your homes and shelters right away," said Avichay Adraee, the army's Arabic-language spokesperson, in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
"This is your chance. Move now without delay to the southern part of Gaza," he urged.
Meanwhile, Israeli tanks moved further into Jabalia, and fighter jets bombed the area. The military also gave new orders for almost all people in northern Gaza, especially in Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahia, where about 400,000 people still live, to leave.
The Palestinian civil defense reported that airstrikes in Jabalia targeted civilians and their homes, causing "significant fear and terror" among the residents. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said their teams were receiving urgent calls to help injured people, but couldn’t respond because of the heavy bombardment.
"Soldiers are shooting at anyone who moves in the Be’e al-Na’ja area, west of Jabalia," the Red Crescent reported. Meanwhile, residents took to social media, warning that "Jabalia is being wiped out."
The renewed assault began on Sunday when Israeli tanks surrounded the camp. So far, at least 19 people have been killed, according to the Palestinian civil defense, and many residents are trapped inside their homes.
Nadia Hardman, a Human Rights Watch researcher, said, "We are seeing more evidence that Israel may be committing the war crime of forced displacement." She added that evacuation orders often put people in danger because the areas they are told to go to are not safe.
Some Palestinians trying to escape Jabalia were also shot at. Mohammed Sultan, a 28-year-old resident, told CNN, "Drones were firing at everyone on the road."
A witness described the violence in Jabalia, saying, “Three people were shot right in front of me. My brother and I tried to help the injured, but a little girl was shot in the neck, and her father was also hurt."
Hassan Hamad, a 19-year-old journalist from Jabalia, was killed in an Israeli missile strike on his home after Israeli officials warned him to stop filming attacks in Gaza.
Phillipe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said many people are refusing to leave because they know there is no safe place to go in Gaza. He posted on X (formerly Twitter) that at least 400,000 people are "trapped" in northern Gaza, where "there is no end to hell." He warned that hunger is spreading due to a lack of basic supplies and added that UN shelters have been forced to close for the first time since the war began.
Doctors Without Borders said the area is becoming an "unlivable wasteland" due to the assault. This is the third major Israeli attack on Jabalia since October 2023. A previous assault in May, lasting 20 days, devastated the camp.
The current attack has raised fears that the military is carrying out a plan proposed by retired Israeli Major-General Giora Eiland, which seeks to force 400,000 residents out of northern Gaza to create a "closed military zone." Eiland’s plan, shared on Israeli TV, suggests that those who remain in the area could face starvation. Last month, he called for residents to be evacuated, warning that within a week, northern Gaza would become a military zone.
In recent weeks, reports suggest that Israel’s government has been considering implementing the controversial "general’s plan." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told Reuters that the plan “makes sense.” Israel's public broadcaster Kann suggested that the recent attacks on Jabalia could be the start of the plan’s implementation. The network reported that the entire northern Gaza Strip would be evacuated, and the area would be turned into a "closed military zone."
On Tuesday, Israeli forces issued evacuation orders for three main hospitals in northern Gaza—Kamal Adwan, al-Awda, and the Indonesian hospital—giving them just 24 hours to leave. The army warned that if they didn’t evacuate, they would face "the same fate as al-Shifa hospital," which has suffered severe destruction, killings, and arrests, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Gaza’s health ministry also reported that the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia is under siege by Israeli forces and will soon run out of fuel. One paramedic was detained by Israeli soldiers while helping evacuate a patient, despite ongoing efforts to coordinate safe evacuations.
One medical worker at a northern Gaza hospital vowed to stay, saying, “As long as there are patients, I won’t leave.”
Kamal Adwan hospital, the only remaining facility in northern Gaza that provides maternity services and dialysis, is currently caring for around 60 patients. According to Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), hospital staff had to remove newborns from the neonatal unit, but ambulances were blocked at Israeli checkpoints, despite Israeli military assurances of "safe passage" to another hospital.
Dr. Hossam Abu Safia, the hospital’s director, told Drop Site News that he refuses to leave. “As long as there are patients, I won’t leave," he said. "I’ve been here since the genocide started, and I am determined to continue helping my people."
The NGO Action Aid expressed deep concern over the expulsion orders for hospitals in northern Gaza, warning that this puts at risk patients, medical staff, critically ill individuals, pregnant women, and newborns in incubators. The organization called the situation "gravely alarming" in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).