Strike on al-Ahli Hospital condemned by global faith leaders and medical groups as healthcare system in Gaza nears total collapse
Israeli forces bombed the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City early Sunday morning, killing three people during a rushed evacuation, including a 12-year-old boy. The strike, which occurred on Palm Sunday, destroyed the last fully functional hospital in northern Gaza, eliminating critical services for thousands of patients and internally displaced Palestinians.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages al-Ahli Hospital, stated that the bombing marked the fifth time the hospital had been attacked since the war began in 2023.
“The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled at the bombing of the hospital now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023—and this time on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week,” the diocese said. “We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions. We pray and call for the end of this horrific war and the suffering of so many.”
According to the diocese, hospital staff were given just 20 minutes to evacuate before two missiles struck. The attack destroyed the hospital’s genetic laboratory—Gaza’s only facility capable of performing a range of specialized tests—and damaged the pharmacy, emergency department, and neighboring St. Philip’s Church.
Dr. Yousef Al-Haddad, a physiotherapy specialist at the hospital, described the aftermath: “We are in complete shock. As I speak to you, I’m surrounded by piles of rubble and destruction. The laboratory was the only one in Gaza that provided a range of tests unavailable in any other hospital—and now it’s been entirely lost. Emergency and reception services were shared between the al-Ahli Hospital and al-Shifa Hospital, with our hospital taking the lead as it was the only hospital equipped with a CT scanner. Now, following last night’s attack, these services have entirely ceased. This will undoubtedly increase the pressure on al-Shifa Hospital, which is already operating with a smaller capacity.”
As patients were moved into the streets in the dark and cold, three people died during the evacuation, including a 12-year-old boy who had been on oxygen. Razan al-Nahhas, an emergency doctor who previously worked at the hospital, told Al Jazeera, “He was on oxygen, as were the two other patients, and the family basically walked with them to a nearby hospital, a very small facility with no capacity for the number of patients heading their way. And they [the patients] arrived dead.”
Video footage posted online showed flames rising from the hospital building and patients, some still in their beds, rushing away. Surrounding buildings, including St. Philip’s Church, were also damaged.
A local journalist told the BBC that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called a doctor working in the emergency department and gave a direct order: “All patients and displaced people must go out to a safe distance. You have only 20 minutes to leave.”
The Israeli military stated the hospital was being used as a “command and control centre used by Hamas,” but provided no evidence to support the claim. The IDF also said it had taken steps “to mitigate harm to civilians or to the hospital compound, including issuing advanced warnings in the area of the terror infrastructure, the use of precise munitions, and aerial surveillance.”
Khalil Bakr, a Palestinian father who was staying at the hospital with his three injured daughters, told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline program that they fled with only minutes to spare. “It was terrifying,” he said. “The whole situation was difficult because I have already been injured. And as for my three daughters, one had her leg amputated, the other had her hand amputated, and the third had her body full of platinum plates. Only two minutes separated us from death.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the hospital was rendered out of service following the strike. According to WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, 50 patients were moved to other hospitals, while 40 critically ill patients could not be relocated. “Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law,” he said. “Attacks on health care must stop.”
Dr. Ghebreyesus emphasized that the hospital had been the last fully operational medical facility in northern Gaza following the destruction of the al-Shifa medical complex and other hospitals in the region.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) issued a statement urging immediate global intervention. “There must be an immediate and permanent cease-fire, an end to all arms transfers to Israel, and full accountability for repeated violations of international law, including the deliberate targeting of hospitals,” the group wrote. “Israel must be held to its legal obligation to repair the destruction it has caused to Gaza’s health infrastructure and allow unimpeded humanitarian access in line with the orders of the International Court of Justice.”
A Red Crescent doctor told Middle East Eye that the evacuation would have long-term health consequences. “All the hospitals are overcrowded and are unprepared for providing full medical services, this will surely reflect on the health of the wounded, the patients and it could result in the loss of their lives, the loss of their body parts, or could cause long-term disability,” he said.
Religious leaders and humanitarian groups condemned the strike and its timing. The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine said, “The attack, carried out on Palm Sunday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, constitutes a grave violation of religious sanctity and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations stated, “The far-right Israeli government has shown time and again it is willing to violate religious norms, whether targeting Palestinian Christians or Muslims, in its genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people. Faith leaders in our nation and worldwide must speak out against the war of extermination being waged by Israel using the support of the U.S. government and with American taxpayer dollars.”
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, said, “For the only Christian hospital in Gaza to be attacked on Palm Sunday is especially appalling. I share in the grief of our Palestinian brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Jerusalem. I pray for the staff and patients of the hospital, and for the family of the boy who tragically died during the evacuation.”
The UK’s Foreign Minister David Lammy called for an end to the violence. “Such deplorable attacks must end,” he said. “Israel’s attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza.”
The bombing came amid a broader wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza that killed at least 21 people on the same day, according to The Associated Press. The IDF had announced the previous day that it had succeeded in isolating Rafah in the south from the rest of the Gaza Strip.
Since October 7, 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported that 50,944 Palestinians have been killed and 116,156 injured. At least 1,563 of those deaths occurred after March 18, when Israel ended a temporary cease-fire and resumed its offensive.
The hospital had previously drawn international attention in October 2023, when hundreds were killed in an explosion. At the time, Palestinian officials blamed Israel, while Israel claimed the blast was caused by a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which denied responsibility.
In response to Sunday’s strike, the Hamas-run government media office stated, “Israel is committing a horrific crime by targeting al Ahli Arab, which houses hundreds of patients and medical staff.”
As Gaza’s medical system collapses, international aid organizations, religious leaders, and human rights groups continue to call for a permanent cease-fire and accountability for attacks on healthcare facilities.
“Hospitals are protected under international humanitarian law,” Dr. Ghebreyesus said. “Once again we repeat: Patients, health workers, and hospitals must be protected. The aid blockade must be lifted. Cease-fire.”
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