Rafah (Gaza Strip): Five patients in intensive care died after their oxygen supply was cut off in southern Gaza’s main hospital which was stormed by Israeli troops. The raid caused chaos for hundreds of staff and wounded inside, health officials said here Friday. Troops were searching the complex where the military said it believes the remaining hostages abducted by Hamas might be located.
The raid by Israeli troops occurred after they had besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week. Staff, patients and others inside struggled under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. The Israeli military said Friday it had detained dozens from the facility, including some it alleged were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Negotiations over a cease-fire in Gaza, meanwhile, appear to have stalled. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back hard Friday against the US vision for after the war — particularly its calls for the creation of a Palestinian state. After speaking overnight with President Joe Biden, Netanyahu wrote on ‘X’ that Israel will not accept ‘international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians’.
Netanyahu said that if other countries unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state, it would give a ‘reward to terrorism’. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected creation of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu has vowed to continue the offensive and expand it to the Gaza city of Rafah, near Egypt, until Hamas is destroyed and scores of hostages taken during the militants’ October 7 attack are freed. In their phone call, Biden again cautioned Netanyahu against moving forward with a military operation in Rafah before coming up with a ‘credible and executable plan’ to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians, the White House said.
Two Israeli airstrikes on Rafah overnight killed at least 10 people, including seven members of the same family, according to hospital officials.
With the war showing no sign of ending, the risk of a broader conflict grew as Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group had deadliest exchange of fire along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Israel launched airstrikes into southern Lebanon for a second day Thursday after killing 10 civilians and three Hezbollah fighters Wednesday in response to a rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier and wounded several others.
Nasser Hospital was the latest in a series of hospitals Israeli forces have besieged and stormed during the war, claiming Hamas was using them for military purposes. The assaults have gutted Gaza’s health sector as it struggles to treat a constant stream of people wounded in daily bombardments.