Israel destroys Baptist hospital in Gaza, forcing it out of service

By Ikram Kouachi

Israeli warplanes struck Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza early Sunday, destroying its main reception building and rendering the hospital inoperable amid ongoing Israeli air raids on the besieged enclave.

According to Anadolu’s correspondent on the ground, two missiles hit the reception department, setting fires and causing severe damage to the emergency ward, laboratory, and pharmacy.

Medical staff at the scene confirmed that the hospital was forced out of service and can no longer receive victims of continued airstrikes.

The hospital, located in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, has been a vital lifeline for more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza and North Gaza governorates, especially after the destruction of several major hospitals in the strip since October 2023.

In a statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza said Israel “committed a new horrific war crime” by striking a facility that housed patients, wounded civilians, and medical personnel.

“This cowardly aggression is not the first of its kind,” it added, recalling the Oct. 17, 2023 bombing of the same hospital, which left 471 Palestinians dead and hundreds more injured.