Israeli airstrike hits main building of Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital: Palestinian official

Gaza, Nov 13 (IANS) An Israeli airstrike has destroyed a building at Gaza’s Al Shifa Medical Complex, a Palestinian health official has said.

Munir al-Bursh, the Director-General of the Pharmaceutical Department at the Gaza-based Health Ministry, told reporters that the Al Shifa Complex was subjected to Israeli shelling, with its cardiology department destroyed, Xinhua news agency reported.

Al-Bursh said the Israeli army forces earlier in the day targeted the first floor of the main specialized building at the medical complex, which houses the intensive care units.

He noted that the Israeli forces targeted approximately 40 displaced individuals attempting to leave the hospital, resulting in deaths and injuries, without giving the exact number of casualties.

Meanwhile, the government media office in Gaza held Israel and the international community, especially the United States, “fully responsible for the ongoing crime of targeting medical staff, wounded, patients, and displaced individuals inside the medical complex.”

The media office called on all international institutions in Gaza, without exception, to immediately intervene “to protect the hospital, its medical staff, and everyone inside.”

Established in 1946, the medical complex is the largest health institution in the Gaza Strip, including three specialized hospitals.

–IANS

int/sha