Israel accuses Hamas of using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons. Al Shifa Hospital is the largest hospital in Gaza.
Israel on Friday struck an ambulance that the Israeli army said was transporting Hamas fighters in Gaza City. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said the ambulance was evacuating injured people to the south of the enclave.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al Qidra said the ambulance was part of a convoy targeted by Israel as it left al Shifa hospitaladding that many people were killed and injured.
Israeli army says it identified and struck an ambulance “used by a Hamas terrorist cell” in the combat zone.
Several Hamas fighters were killed during the strike, said the Israeli army, which accused Hamas of using ambulances to transport fighters and weapons, without providing evidence.
The director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “extremely shocked by reports (of) attacks on ambulances evacuating patients” in a message posted on social networks. He added that patients, medical staff and medical facilities must be protected.
Earlier in the day, Ashraf al Qidra said ambulances would transport Palestinians seriously injured towards the south of the enclave. Israel, which accuses Hamas of hiding its command centers in tunnels beneath Shifa Hospital, last month ordered civilians to leave the northern Gaza Strip. Hamas and hospital leaders have denied the Israeli accusations.