Gaza’s Al-Durra Children’s Hospital Suffers Heavy Damage in Israeli Attack
An overnight Israeli attack on the Mohammed al-Durra Pediatric Hospital in Gaza City caused significant damage to critical medical infrastructure, prompting sharp condemnation from Palestinian health authorities and renewed international appeals for intervention.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Wednesday that an Israeli artillery strike hit the al-Durra Children’s Hospital in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, causing “significant damage” to its intensive care unit and solar energy system.
“The occupation does not stop at preventing medicine and food from reaching the children of Gaza, and is also depriving them of life,” the ministry said in a statement.
The health ministry condemned the attack and urged the international community to hold Israel accountable and to protect medical facilities in the war-torn enclave.
Civil defense sources reported that the hospital was targeted amid a series of intensified Israeli assaults on the 37th day since the resumption of military operations in Gaza.
Palestinian media said 19 people were killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip overnight, including 15 in Gaza City.
At the nearby Yaffa School, which had been sheltering displaced civilians, Israeli airstrikes caused a massive blaze, killing several and injuring many more.
Civil defense teams recovered the bodies of at least 10 victims and several wounded from the school’s rubble, though more remain trapped.
“The bodies were severely burned,” the ministry said, adding that survivors with extensive burns were transferred to al-Shifa Medical Complex and a field hospital operated by the Red Crescent.
Emergency services reported being overwhelmed and unable to reach many victims still trapped under debris and along damaged roads.
The Civil Defense Directorate in Gaza called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgently facilitate the deployment of rescue teams to bombed areas.
“We continue to receive calls for help from civilians under the rubble, but we cannot reach them,” the directorate said.
At least 39 bodies and 105 wounded were brought to hospitals in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, according to health officials.
A number of victims remain inaccessible due to ongoing bombardments and limited ambulance access.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli genocidal war has killed at least 51,305 people and wounded 117,096 in Gaza, the health ministry said.
Since March 18, when Israel resumed strikes after breaching a ceasefire, at least 1,928 people have been killed.
