Red Cross warns of “intense shootings” near hospital in Gaza

The Palestinian Red Cross reported this Monday (13), “intense shootings” near the second largest hospital in Gaza, Al-Quds.

“Intense gunfights continue in the vicinity of Al-Quds hospital in Gaza city. Bombings and loud explosions are heard in the region,” said the Palestinian Red Cross, in a post on X.

Attempts to evacuate staff and patients from the hospital were thwarted on Monday (13), when a convoy of Palestinian Red Cross vehicles, accompanied by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was prevented from passing through the province of Al-Wusta. , in central Gaza.

“The convoy is still waiting for the situation to calm down in the vicinity of the hospital so that it can begin the process of removing patients,” said the agency.

A CNN contacted the Israel Defense Forces for comment and is awaiting their response.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Red Cross announced that the hospital, which is the second largest in the Gaza Strip, was completely out of service. In a statement, the agency said the medical unit was “no longer in operation” due to fuel exhaustion and power outages.

The Palestinian Red Cross also said that its medical teams were trapped inside the hospital and could not leave as they were “surrounded by tanks on all sides”.

When questioned by CNN Regarding the situation in Al-Quds, the Israeli army stated that it was “in the midst of intense fighting against Hamas in the vicinity of the area in question” and was “taking all possible measures to avoid harm to civilians”.

Hospitals in Gaza

The situation at Al-Quds hospital is part of a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The largest hospital in the region, Al-Shifa, is experiencing a “catastrophic” situation, as staff and patients were trapped inside the medical unit due to intense fighting. Israel insists that civilians are safe to leave the hospital using a humanitarian corridor.