Gaza (Quds News Network)- On Sunday, Israel struck the last functioning hospital in Gaza, further worsening an already critical lack of medical facilities in the enclave.
Gaza’s Civil Defence said Israel’s strike on al-Ahli al-Arabi Baptist Hospital led to “the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units”.
They added that the attack came “minutes after the [Israeli] army’s warning to evacuate this building of patients, the injured and their companions”.
Missiles hit the hospital’s main reception building, damaging or destroying essential departments such as the emergency care ward, laboratory and pharmacy. Eyewitnesses said the Israeli military threatened to bomb the hospital just minutes before the strikes, giving those in its compounds only 18 minutes to evacuate.
Due to the rushed expulsion, critically ill patients were evacuated out in the cold without proper care.
At least three patients – including a child being treated for head injuries – died as a result.
“Unprecedented” Shortages
The Palestinian Health Ministry warned earlier this week that hospitals and medical centres in Gaza were facing “dangerous and unprecedented” shortages of essential medicines as a result of Israel’s blockade.
The ministry said that 37 percent of essential drugs and 59 percent of medical supplies were completely out of stock, along with 54 percent of medications used to treat cancer and blood diseases.
Emergency, surgical and intensive care units had been operating with severely depleted life-saving treatments, while around 80,000 diabetic patients and 110,000 with high blood pressure were no longer receiving care.
The ministry said Israel’s siege that cut off Gaza from food, fuel and medicine, among other vital supplies, is worsening the crisis and creating “catastrophic” challenges for treating patients and the wounded.
Al-Ahli Hospital is one of 36 hospitals that have been bombed, burned or destroyed by the Israeli military since the start of the war, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza on Sunday.
The World Health Organization reported last month that 33 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals had been damaged during the assault, and only 21 remained partly functional. The WHO also warned on Saturday that hospitals in Gaza face a looming medicine shortage because Israel has blocked aid deliveries for six weeks.
The Israeli army and Shin Bet internal intelligence agency later claimed, without providing evidence, that they had targeted a Hamas “command and control complex” within al-Ahli hospital.
Israel has repeatedly struck hospitals across the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its assault on the enclave in October 2023.
Here’s how the world is reacting to Israel’s attack on the hospital:
Palestine
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which runs al-Ahli Hospital, condemned the attack, saying it occurred on “Palm Sunday, the start of the Holy Week, the most sacred week of the Christian year.”
It said the twin strikes demolished the hospital’s two-storey genetic laboratory and damaged the pharmacy and the emergency department buildings.
The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, which is affiliated with the Anglican Church, said the attack constituted “a grave violation of religious sanctity and fundamental principles of international humanitarian law”.
The head of the committee, Ramzi Khoury, asserted that the attack was a direct affront to Palestinian Christians and the global Christian community.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the bombing forced the evacuation of patients and staff. “We call on international institutions and relevant authorities to protect the health sector in accordance with international laws and agreements,” it said in a statement.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) said the “heinous aggression” was “part of a systematic series of attacks targeting hospitals, schools, shelters and tents for the displaced in Gaza, within the context of a systematic war of extermination that violates all humanitarian and moral standards”.
PIJ blamed Israel for sowing panic among patients and staff by issuing a warning shortly before the strike. “The international silence on Gaza is forcing it to become a graveyard for law and humanity,” it added.
Hamas said the Israeli attack is a “new war crime committed by the fascist occupation army, as part of its ongoing series of brutal crimes in the Gaza Strip.”
WHO
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospital was out of service and a child had died as a result of the disruption of care.
The hospital was also forced to move 50 patients to other health centres, but 40 critical patients could not be moved, Tedros added.
“Attacks on health care must stop,” the WHO chief wrote on X. “Once again we repeat: patients, health workers and hospitals must be protected. The aid blockade must be lifted. Ceasefire.”
Al-Ahli hospital in #Gaza is out of service following this morning’s evacuation order and attack – @WHO has received an update from the hospital’s director. A child died due to disruption of care.
The emergency room, laboratory, emergency room X-ray machines and the pharmacy…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 13, 2025
Britain
British Foreign Minister David Lammy said Israel’s bombing of medical facilities had “comprehensively degraded access to healthcare” in the enclave.
“Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy not more bloodshed is how we will achieve a lasting peace,” Lammy wrote on X.
Israel’s attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza.
Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began.
These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy not more bloodshed is how we will achieve a lasting peace.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 13, 2025
Qatar
Qatar said the attack on the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza was a “horrific massacre and a heinous crime against civilians” that constituted a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
The Foreign Ministry warned about the expansion of the cycle of violence across the region and said the international community must assume its responsibilities in protecting civilians.
#Statement : Qatar Strongly Condemns Israeli Bombing of Baptist Hospital in Gaza#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/eYnRnySFaB
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) April 13, 2025
Jordan
Jordan also condemned the attack as well as Israel’s systematic targeting of civilians in Gaza and the destruction of vital facilities that provide essential services to its population.
Egypt
Egypt, too, issued a statement, calling the attack a grave violation of international humanitarian law and international norms and appealing for the international community’s intervention in halting the attacks.
Germany
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock questioned the modalities of the strike but stopped short of condemning the attack. “The cruel Hamas terror must be combated. But international humanitarian law applies, with a special obligation to protect civilian areas. How can a hospital be evacuated in less than 20 minutes?” she asked in a post on X.
Der grausame Hamas-Terror gehört bekämpft. Aber humanitäres Völkerrecht gilt, mit besonderer Schutzverpflichtung für zivile Orte. Wie soll ein Krankenhaus in weniger als 20 Min. evakuiert werden? #Gaza (1/2)
— Außenministerin Annalena Baerbock (@ABaerbock) April 13, 2025
Ireland
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin also denounced the attack. Martin wrote on X that he was “appalled by the missile strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, leaving northern Gaza critically short of emergency care”. He described the attack as part of a “wider and deeper unacceptable development in modern warfare”.
Appalled by the missile strike on the Al-Ahli hospital, leaving northern Gaza critically short of emergency care.
This is part of a wider and deeply unacceptable development in modern warfare.
The wanton killing and targeting of civilians has to end.
— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) April 13, 2025
Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s bombing of the hospital in the “strongest terms”, describing the attack as a “heinous crime” and a “flagrant violation of all international laws and norms, including international humanitarian law”.
The ministry called on the international community to take responsibility for stopping Israeli attacks on Palestinian civilians and said the “repeated violations” were endangering Gaza’s health system.