Israeli Official: 4 Palestinian Hospitals Refuse Evacuation Despite Israeli Warnings

According to Israel Today, an Israeli security official stated that four hospitals in the northern part of the Gaza Strip are declining evacuation operations despite the Israeli army's requests to move south.

The official added that "Hamas is using the hospitals as shelters" and that the Israeli army has "direct contact with most hospitals in Gaza, and we encourage them to evacuate."

The Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed on Friday the request to evacuate several hospitals in the city of Gaza and the northern Gaza Strip. The Red Crescent stated that there are evacuation demands for the Al-Quds Hospital, which accommodates many displaced Palestinians, mostly women and children. Palestinian medical teams also reiterated their plea to the international community and the United Nations to protect hospitals, ambulances, medical staff, patients, and the wounded who have been under continuous bombardment since the beginning of the war.

Last week, the World Health Organization strongly condemned Israel's repeated orders to evacuate 22 hospitals treating over 2,000 patients in northern Gaza, stating that the forced evacuation of patients and healthcare workers amounts to a death sentence for the sick and injured.

The organization's statement on its website indicated that the lives of many critically ill patients are in critical condition, noting that patients in intensive care units dependent on ventilators, pregnant women with pregnancy complications, and others are facing imminent deterioration in their health or death if they are forced to move and evacuate.