Israel has stepped up attacks on Khan Younis in southern Gaza and sent tanks west, prompting accusations from Jordan that its field hospital in the town had been badly damaged by bombings nearby.
Jordan’s military said Wednesday it held Israel responsible for a “flagrant violation of international law” over the damage to the facility.
Elsewhere in the city, residents of Nasser Hospital and surrounding areas were forced to flee when Israeli tanks approached the area overnight, following an Israeli army statement that it had come under fire. in the zone.
Palestinian health officials said at least seven people were killed by Israeli airstrikes that damaged homes near the hospital.
At least 24,448 people have been killed in Israel’s attack on Gaza since October 7, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
At least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on official figures.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud in southern Gaza said there were growing concerns that Nasser Hospital would soon no longer be operational, as has happened with several other facilities targeted by Israeli forces since the start of the war.
“The vast majority of health facilities have been attacked, destroyed and severely damaged, to the point where they are completely out of service,” he said.
Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said additional field hospitals were expected in the coming days.
“These measures were of course necessitated by the strategic militarization of Gaza’s existing hospitals by Hamas,” he said.
Hamas has repeatedly denied using hospitals as cover.
Israel also announced on Wednesday that it had killed six Palestinian fighters in southern Gaza.
In a statement, the military said its latest operation resulted in the death of counterintelligence officer Bilal Nofal and “had a significant impact on the terrorist organization’s ability to develop and strengthen its capabilities.”
Help
Under a deal brokered by Qatar and France, desperately needed aid and medicine have arrived in the Egyptian town of El Arish, near the border with Gaza.
The International Committee of the Red Cross welcomed the deal, which will allow the 61 tons of medicine and food into the enclave, and called it a “much-needed moment of relief.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has left its population facing critical levels of hunger and a growing risk of disease as supplies dwindle, aid agencies said.
On Wednesday, the head of the Palestinian Investment Fund, Mohammed Mustafa, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that it would take at least $15 billion to rebuild homes in Gaza, not including basic infrastructure and hospitals.
“If the war in Gaza continues, it is likely that more people will die from hunger or famine than from war,” Mustafa said.
In early January, Israel announced that it was scaling back its operations in northern Gaza and beginning a new phase of lower-intensity bombing.
However, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Tareq Abu Azzoum, reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza, said this does not appear to be reflected on the ground.
“The strikes have not stopped in recent hours in the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that Israel says it is moving to a whole new phase with low-intensity bombing,” he said.
“We see that the number of civilian deaths and casualties continues to rise, reaching more than 163 Palestinians killed in the previous 24 hours,” he said, citing Palestinian authorities.
