CAIRO (AP) — Gaza’s last major hospital still operating denounced Doctors Without Borders’ decision to withdraw operations over concerns about militants and claimed on Sunday that it had installed civilian police to ensure security.
The rare public friction between Gaza’s two prominent medical institutions comes as the Palestinian death toll since the current ceasefire has surpassed 600. At least 11 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, the hospital said.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement on Saturday that all non-critical medical operations at the Al-Nasser hospital had been suspended due to a “serious” threat posed by the security breach to its teams and patients. Médecins Sans Frontières said it has seen an increase in patients and staff seeing armed men in parts of the hospital since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire was reached in October.
Al-Nasser Hospital said on Sunday that the increase in armed personnel was due to the presence of civilian police and was intended to protect patients and staff, adding that MSF’s “allegations are factually incorrect, irresponsible and pose a serious risk to protected civilian medical facilities.”
One of the few hospitals still functioning in Gaza
Hundreds of patients and war casualties are treated every day at Al-Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, a facility that serves as a center for Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for Israeli hostages as part of the current cease-fire.
Médecins Sans Frontières said its teams had reported “a range of unacceptable behaviour, including the presence of armed personnel, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients and, more recently, suspected movements of weapons.” The suspension took place in January but was only announced recently.
Staff at Al-Nasser Hospital said the presence of the armed civilian police force was crucial as the hospital has been attacked several times by masked armed men and militiamen in recent months.
Hamas remains the dominant force in non-Israeli-controlled areas of Gaza, including the area where Nasser Hospital is located. But the war has led to the mushrooming of other armed groups, including those backed by Israeli forces in Israeli-controlled strips.
The Israeli military said it had intelligence that Al-Nasser Hospital was being used as a headquarters and military outpost for senior Hamas officials, but provided no evidence. It called MSF’s move “an important decision that comes too late.”
The war began with a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Throughout the war, Israel repeatedly attacked hospitals, including those of Nasser, accusing the armed group of operating in or around the hospitals. Hamas security personnel are frequently present at the hospital, blocking access to certain areas.
Some of the hostages released from Gaza said they spent time in hospitals, including Al-Nasser Hospital, while in captivity.
11 Palestinians killed in Gaza attack
At least 11 Palestinians were killed in Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, hospital authorities said.
The dead included five men in their 20s who were killed east of Khan Younis, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Reports said the attack hit a group close to the Yellow Line, which separates Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza.
Rami Shakra said his son Bala was among the militants protecting the area from attacks by Israeli troops or Israeli-backed armed groups. He said they were killed in the airstrike.
“They were in what they called a safe area,” Shakla said.
Footage captured by The Associated Press from the morgue showed at least two of the men wearing headbands identifying them as members of the Qassam Brigades, a Hamas armed group.
In northern Gaza, a drone struck a group in the Fallujah area of the Jabaliya refugee camp, killing five people, according to Shifa Hospital. Another drone strike in Gaza City killed a man, according to a hospital.
The Israeli military said it launched multiple attacks in response to multiple ceasefire violations near the Yellow Line, including militants trying to hide in rubble and others trying to cross the Yellow Line with weapons.
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10 in an attempt to end more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. While the fiercest fighting has subsided, Israeli fire continues almost daily under the ceasefire.
Gaza health officials said that the Israeli army repeatedly carried out air strikes and opened fire on Palestinians near military-controlled areas, killing 602 Palestinians. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that U.N. agencies and independent experts consider generally reliable. It did not provide details on civilians and militants.
Militants carried out a shooting attack on troops, and Israel said its attack was in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers were killed.
Two Israeli soldiers attacked by ultra-Orthodox Jews
In Israel, two female Israeli soldiers were rescued during riots in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak. Video showed two soldiers being hurried away by police from thousands of ultra-Orthodox men who were chasing and shouting.
Many in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, angered by laws that could force them to serve in the Israeli military, stage regular protests.
Israeli police said the soldiers were conducting welfare visits but were not coordinating with police. Police said protesters burned police motorcycles, attacked officers, threw trash and overturned police cars, leading to at least 22 arrests.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the attack on soldiers but blamed the violence on an “extremist minority”.
The approximately 1.3 million ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up about 13% of Israel’s population, oppose conscription because they consider full-time study in a religious seminary to be their most important duty. The broad exemption from compulsory military service has reignited deep divisions in the country and angered much of the public, especially during the war in Gaza.
___
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel.
___
For more AP coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war