Israeli troops reach gates of key Gaza hospital where medics say newborns among patients dying

Israeli armed forces advanced on Monday as far as the gates of Gaza City’s main hospital, the primary target in their battle to seize control of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, where medics said patients including newborn babies were dying due to a lack of fuel.

The deputy health minister in the Hamas-run coastal enclave, Youssef Abu Rish, said on Monday that all hospitals in the north of Gaza were “out of service”, as continued fighting had put immense strain on medical facilities in the area.

At least 32 patients, at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, including three premature babies, have died over the past three days, according to Palestinian health officials. Operations in the hospital complex, the largest in the besieged strip, were suspended on Saturday after it ran out of fuel. Israel released a video clip purporting to show soldiers leaving jerry cans of fuel close to the hospital, claiming Hamas blocked hospital staff from collecting them. “We have provided assistance, we have provided fuel for the hospital.” said Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Lieut Col Jonathan Conricus.

[ Arab-Islamic summit on Gaza highlights gulf between rulers and citizens ]

[ EU calls for ‘immediate’ halt in fighting in Gaza amid dire humanitarian situation ]

Israel says the hospital sits on top of tunnels housing a headquarters for Hamas fighters, who it says are to blame for its plight as they use patients as shields. Hamas denies the claim.

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The Gaza health ministry says more than 11,000 people, including more than 4,500 children, have been killed since October 7th, when some 3,000 Palestinian gunmen stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking hundreds of others hostage.

With the fighting raging, foreign minister Eli Cohen estimates Israel has a diplomatic window of “about two to three weeks” to accomplish its military objectives in the Gaza Strip before international pressure to agree to a ceasefire becomes overwhelming.

In recent weeks, Israeli officials had estimated the military would need many months to achieve their aim of destroying Hamas’s capabilities.

Briefing reporters on Monday, Mr Cohen said the issue of the 239 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza was a “central tool” giving Israel legitimacy to continue fighting, and that “the world accepts that Israel will not stop until the captives are freed”.

In Dublin, Tom Hand, the Irish-born father of Emily Hand, said he remained hopeful his daughter was alive after she was abducted by Hamas fighters.

She was due to turn nine on Friday and “her birthday will be in the tunnels of the Hamas”, he said in an emotional address at a press conference.

The Israeli military hopes to complete the conquest of Gaza city in the coming days and defence minister Yoav Gallant says Hamas cannot stop the advance. “Hamas has lost control of Gaza. Terrorists are fleeing south, civilians are looting Hamas bases. They have no faith in the government.”

[ Tánaiste urges EU to ‘go further’ in calling for ceasefire amid mounting concern over suffering in Gaza hospitals ]

[ Israel says it is ready to evacuate babies from Gaza’s largest hospital ]

Israeli soldiers took a group photograph inside Gaza city’s parliament after capturing the building.

The IDF released a separate video clip on Monday, which it claims showed several Palestinian gunmen hidden among civilians firing two RPG rockets at troops in front of the hospital. Israel said its forces responded with live fire, shelling and air strikes, allegedly killing 21 militants.

The UN Palestinian refugee agency’s fuel depot in Gaza has run dry and, within a few days, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) would no longer be able to resupply hospitals, remove sewage and provide drinking water, its chief said on Monday.

UN workers observed a minute’s silence on Monday to honour the more than 100 employees killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war began, as UN flags flew at half-mast.

Staff at UN offices in Geneva bowed their heads as a candle was lit in memory of UNRWA’s 101 employees killed in the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Hamas media reported on Monday night that more than 30 people were killed and scores were injured in an Israeli bombardment of Jabalia camp, in northern Gaza. Independent verification was not immediately possible.

Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has warned cabinet ministers to choose their words carefully when talking about the war.

His warning came after agriculture minister Avi Dichter described the war as “Gaza’s Nakba” – the Arabic word for “catastrophe” used to describe the displacement of Palestinians in the 1948 war that led to Israel’s independence, marking the birth of the Palestinian refugee problem.