Israeli military strikes Gaza City’s last functioning hospital

Israeli airstrikes destroyed part of a hospital in Gaza City in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to local health officials as Israel continues to bomb the enclave with no ceasefire deal in sight.

There were no casualties in the strike on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, according to Gaza health officials, as patients and hospital staff evacuated following Israeli military orders.

Dr. Fadl Naim, Administrative Director of the hospital, told NBC News that the hospital was the last central medical center in Gaza City, and was now out of service, adding that the Israeli military strike had attacked a building containing reception and the emergency department, “completely destroying it.”

One image of the blast showed a blinding yellow flash lighting up the night sky as a missile struck, engulfing the hospital in flames.

NBC News verified multiple scenes from Al-Alhi Baptist Hospital showing people in beds being wheeled away from the area, and the devastation afterwards, including a large hole in one of the walls that might have been part of the hospital facilities and video showing devastation inside the hospital’s church.

The Israeli military said the compound was used by terrorists “to plan and execute terror attacks,” without providing evidence, and that steps were taken to mitigate harms to civilians before the strike, including issuing advanced warnings.

Dr. Naim said there were “no militants or military activity in the building or anywhere in the hospital.”

Hamas called the attack “a new escalation of criminality” and accused Israel of a “systemic series of attacks” on hospitals and schools. It provided a list of 36 hospitals across Gaza that it says Israel has attacked since the current conflict began.

Israel’s bombardment has shattered the enclave’s hospital system, making it difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians to get basic life-saving medical help. In December, the United Nations Human Rights Office said Israeli attacks had pushed Gaza’s healthcare system to “the brink of total collapse.” At least 70% of infrastructure in Gaza, including hospitals and schools, 60% of homes and 65% of roads have been destroyed, another U.N. report said in February.

Last week, an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital Complex hit a press tent and killed several people, including Yousef Al-Khozindar, 27, who was working with the NBC News crew, and injured several others.

The Israeli government has also imposed a month-long blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has Palestinians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle.

In October 2023, a blast in the parking compound at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, a Christian-run medical complex, killed 200 to 300 people, and at the time had sparked international outrage as the first recorded instance of an attack on a health facility.

Hamas blamed Israel for the attack, while Israel blamed it on an errant rocket fired by a militant group in Gaza.

That blast happened just ten days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel, and around 250 taken hostage.

Since then, more than 50,900 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave, amounting to more than 2% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million.

Of those, officials say more than 1,500 have been killed since March 18, when Israel restarted its offensive in the Gaza Strip after abandoning the ceasefire.