Hundreds of people walked out of Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital on Saturday after the hospital director said the Israeli army ordered the hospital to be cleared.
The Hamas-run health ministry stated in a statement that 120 injured people remained at the facility, along with an unspecified number of premature babies, and that it was in contact with the Red Cross about the infants.
According to the officials, few medical personnel remained behind to care for those who could not be transported.
Columns of sick and injured people, some of whom were amputees, as well as displaced persons, doctors, and nurses, made their way towards the seafront.
Israel’s army denied commanding the evacuation.
The Israel Defence Forces acceded to the request of the director of the Shifa Hospital to enable additional Gazans who were in the hospital and would like to evacuate, to do so, according to a statement issued by the army.
Before Israeli troops went in on Wednesday, the UN estimated that 2,300 patients, staff, and displaced Palestinians were sheltering at Al-Shifa.
Israel accuses Hamas of planning attacks on underground hideouts beneath the large health complex, and its troops are examining the buildings for evidence to back up their accusations.
The Islamist movement that governs Gaza and has an armed wing, Hamas has consistently denied utilizing hospitals as military bases.
As stated by Hamas health officials, dozens of patients have died at the hospital as a result of blackouts caused by fuel shortages caused by severe combat in northern Gaza.
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