TEHRAN - Israeli forces have waged heavy artillery shelling around Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, resulting in fires breaking out inside its intensive care unit (ICU).

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Hossam Abu Safia, painted a grim picture of the devastation caused by what he described as deliberate attacks on the medical facility.

He recounted the shocking moment when vehicles and bulldozers entered the hospital grounds following relentless strikes on nearby civilian homes. “We were shocked to see vehicles and bulldozers entering the hospital’s vicinity,” Abu Safia said. Gunfire and shelling erupted, leaving staff and patients powerless to respond.

Abu Safia explained that the assault escalated rapidly, with indiscriminate weapons fire targeting the hospital. He emphasized that the ICU was deliberately attacked, stating, “The occupation deliberately targeted the ICU by directing gunfire at it.”

Amid the chaos, hospital staff worked frantically to evacuate critically ill patients. “We miraculously managed to evacuate patients who were on ventilators from the ICU before it caught fire,” he said. He underscored the facility’s critical role, adding, “It’s the only ICU in northern Gaza.”

The aftermath of the attack, according to Abu Safia, is catastrophic. The hospital lies in ruins, and staff were left using makeshift tools to extinguish the flames, compounded by a week-long water shortage caused by earlier strikes on water tanks and the local network. “The ICU is out of service, and the situation is disastrous,” he confirmed.

Expressing deep frustration, Abu Safia criticized the lack of international action despite months of urgent calls to protect Gaza’s healthcare system and its workers. “We had been calling on the world for over 75 days to protect the healthcare system and its workers, but there has been no response,” he added.

Meanwhile, reports from the area indicate that several people were killed and others injured in nearby airstrikes on civilian homes.

As the humanitarian situation in Gaza collapses, Kamal Adwan Hospital’s plight highlights how the international community’s silence has allowed the Israeli occupation to get away with the most heinous of war crimes. 

Further reports noted that the occupation carried out heavy shelling on Jabalia and Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, killing at least 10 Palestinian civilians. Rescue teams are reportedly unable to reach dozens of bodies and injured.

In southeastern Gaza City, Israeli artillery shelled the Zeitoun neighborhood. Meanwhile, occupation forces fired heavily in the direction of the Sudaniya area northwest of Gaza City.

This comes as the Israeli military continues destruction and bulldozing operations in areas south of Gaza City.

The death toll from the U.S.-backed Israeli genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023, has risen to 45,059 and more than 107,041 injured.

Tens of thousands of others are believed to be missing or under the rubble of collapsed buildings.