An Israeli strike killed a security guard and wounded 10 patients at a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday, according to the director of the medical facility.
The deadly attack on the grounds of the Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital
came two days after Israel attacked the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, one of the last functioning medical centers in Gaza. Israel has said the strike on the Al Ahli hospital was targeting a Hamas command center, without providing evidence.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military said it was looking into the reports about the strike on the Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital.
Dr. Suhaib al-Hamss, the field hospital’s director, said that the guard was killed protecting the entrance to the facility. Four of the wounded suffered serious injuries, he added.
“It was a powerful strike,” Dr. al-Hamss, 37, said in a phone interview. “Everything fell over.”
The Israeli military offensive in Gaza has caused immense damage to hospitals and the health care system in the enclave. The World Health Organization reported last month that 33 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals had been damaged during the war, and that only 21 remained partly functional. The W.H.O. also warned on Saturday that hospitals in Gaza face a looming medicine shortage because Israel has blocked aid deliveries for six weeks.
Israel has accused Hamas of exploiting health facilities by using them for military purposes — allegations that the militant group has denied.
Dr. al-Hamss said that the hospital’s location was known to the Israeli authorities as it had been shared through intermediaries before the attack. He added that staff were vetted and that Hamas government offices were not hosted at the medical facility.
“We’re not doing anything other than medicine,” he said.
The Kuwait Specialty Field Hospital was treating a minimum of 3,500 patients every day, according to Dr. al-Hamss.
“The hospital,” he said, “is providing a solution to the people in light of the collapse of the heath sector in Gaza.”
Patrick Kingsley contributed reporting to this article.
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.
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