Israeli air strike hits Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital amid intensified military campaign

Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital damaged in latest Israeli air strike targeting alleged Hamas site.

Flames erupt following an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the Gaza Strip on April 13, 2025. Photo by Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea/Anadolu

By Anna Fadiah and Hayu Andini

An Israeli air strike on a Gaza hospital early Sunday heavily damaged Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza, a medical facility still functioning amid the ongoing conflict. The Israeli military claimed it was targeting a Hamas command and control center operating from within the hospital complex. The Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital caused no immediate casualties but dealt a significant blow to one of the last remaining health sanctuaries in the war-torn territory.

The air strike destroyed the hospital’s surgery unit and its oxygen generation station, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. “The bombing led to the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units,” the agency reported. The attack occurred mere minutes after Israeli forces issued a warning to evacuate the facility, sending patients, doctors, and civilians fleeing into the streets.

A shrinking refuge for Gaza’s displaced

Since the onset of war on October 7, 2023, hospitals in Gaza have become crucial shelters for displaced civilians. With tens of thousands fleeing from bombed neighborhoods and collapsing infrastructure, medical facilities have been overwhelmed—not only by the wounded but by people seeking a safe haven.

Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab Hospital, had been one such place of refuge. That sanctuary was shattered by Sunday’s Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital. AFP photographs taken after the attack show the aftermath—mangled metal, crushed concrete, and smoke rising from the ruined building. A gaping hole marked the site where the operating theater once stood. Iron doors had been blasted off their hinges. Media equipment from nearby vans was also destroyed in the strike.

Witnesses recall chaos and displacement

“I heard children and displaced people screaming and crying in the streets,” said Mohammed Kashko, 66, a resident who lives near the hospital. “There was fire and destruction everywhere. The situation is terrifying. We just have to pray to God now.”

Naela Imad, a 42-year-old mother, had been staying at the hospital with her children. “Just as we reached the hospital gate, they bombed it. It was a massive explosion,” she told reporters. “Now, me and my children are out on the street. We’ve been displaced more than 20 times. The hospital was our last refuge.”

Israel’s justification and expanding military strategy

The Israeli military has maintained that Hamas militants are using civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for military operations—a charge strongly denied by Palestinian health officials. In a statement following the strike, the military said: “Security forces struck a command and control center used by Hamas in the Al-Ahli Hospital. The compound was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terror attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”

On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz confirmed the military had completed the takeover of a key corridor—the “Morag axis”—between the southern Gaza cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis. The corridor is considered by Israel to be part of a strategic “security zone,” and the military signaled intentions to further expand its offensive operations.

Additional strikes and mounting casualties

The Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital was part of a broader intensification of operations across the territory. On Sunday, an air strike in the central city of Deir el-Balah targeted a vehicle, killing seven people—including six brothers—according to Gaza’s civil defence. This came just a day after Israel captured key strategic ground in the south.

Since March 18, when a ceasefire collapsed, at least 1,574 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry. This brings the total death toll in the strip since the war began to 50,944.

A health system on the brink

The strike on Al-Ahli is only the latest in a long list of attacks on medical facilities in Gaza. Since the beginning of hostilities, numerous hospitals have been bombed, despite protections afforded to medical institutions under international humanitarian law. Al-Ahli itself was previously hit in October 2023, when a blast in its car park killed dozens. At the time, Hamas and Islamic Jihad blamed Israel, which denied responsibility and pointed to a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket—a claim supported by the United States.

Today, only a handful of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially operational, the United Nations reports. The blockade has prevented the entry of vital medical supplies, creating a severe shortage of life-saving resources. “The health system in Gaza is overwhelmed by the influx of casualties and rapidly depleting essential medicines and supplies due to the blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid supplies into Gaza for over a month,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

Media also targeted

The fallout from the Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital extended to journalists. Iraq’s Aletejah TV, a pro-Iranian broadcaster, reported that one of its live broadcast vehicles was also damaged in the blast. The strike appears to have occurred close to areas used by media to report on the conflict, raising additional concerns about the safety of journalists operating in Gaza.

International condemnation and mounting pressure

The Gaza health ministry, governed by Hamas, condemned the strike, calling it “a forced evacuation of patients and medical staff under direct threat of bombardment.” Global health organizations, humanitarian aid groups, and various UN agencies have expressed alarm over the targeting of medical infrastructure, urging all parties to respect international laws protecting hospitals and civilians.

International pressure is building as images of the devastation from Al-Ahli circulate online. Yet, with Israel intensifying its campaign and signaling no near-term pause, the possibility of further such attacks remains high.

Humanitarian crisis deepens

The destruction of the Al-Ahli Hospital further deepens an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. For many Palestinians, there are few safe spaces left. Constant displacement, lack of access to medical care, food insecurity, and fear of indiscriminate strikes are pushing the territory’s 2.2 million residents into a state of desperation.

With aid convoys stalled and negotiations for humanitarian pauses faltering, the prospects for relief remain bleak. The Israeli air strike on the Gaza hospital not only crippled a critical piece of medical infrastructure but also symbolized the growing toll of a conflict where civilians and sanctuaries are increasingly caught in the crossfire.

As the war grinds on, the question remains: how many more hospitals, shelters, and lives will be lost before a meaningful de-escalation takes hold?