Nasser hospital – the main medical centre serving southern Gaza – is “not functional anymore”, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry has made similar comments. “It’s gone completely out of service,” said spokesperson Ashraf al Qidra.
“There are only four medical teams – 25 staff – currently caring for patients inside the facility.”
Israeli forces raided the hospital in Khan Younis on Thursday after saying it had information Hamas fighters were hiding there.
Hostages may have been kept at the facility, while it is possible some captives’ bodies are there too, Israel added.
Hamas has denied the accusations, calling them “lies”.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the WHO, said his teams had been denied access to the facility on both Friday and Saturday.
It meant they were unable to “assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs”, Mr Ghebreyesus posted on X.
“Nasser hospital in Gaza is not functional anymore after a weeklong siege followed by the ongoing raid,” he said.
“There are still about 200 patients in the hospital. At least 20 need to be urgently referred to other hospitals to receive health care; medical referral is every patient’s right.
“The cost of delays will be paid by patients’ lives. Access to the patients and hospital should be facilitated.”
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Mr al Qidra said the hospital’s water supply had stopped, sewage was flooding emergency rooms and the remaining staff have no way of treating intensive care patients.
The Israeli military said it had arrested at least 100 suspects on the premises of Nasser hospital, killed gunmen nearby and found weapons inside.
It said it does not target doctors and patients.
Sky News has not been able to independently verify the reports.
Israel is thought to be preparing an assault on the southern city of Rafah, home now to more than a million mostly displaced Palestinians.
This story originally appeared on Skynews
