Dozens Injured As Israeli Troops Enter Nasser Hospital in Southern Gaza

The hospital, the largest in southern Gaza, has been targeted, with casualties reported, some of whom have been wounded multiple times. The medical facility is now completely out of service, with the entire medical staff detained and restrained.

Israeli soldiers have set up military checkpoints and instructed Palestinians to come in groups of five, including doctors, nurses, and those injured. Despite orders to evacuate, thousands, including critically ill patients, remain inside the besieged hospital.

On Wednesday, video footage released showing displaced people leaving the hospital, some carrying white flags, following Israeli orders to evacuate. However, witnesses and medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) report that those inside are afraid to leave due to reports of people being shot.

Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the complex on Tuesday. In a post shared on the social media platform X on Wednesday, the army said, “Hamas continues to conduct military activities” in the hospital, an unsubstantiated claim Israel has made about other Gaza health facilities it has raided during its months-long war.

The Israeli military – which used drones and loudspeakers to tell people to leave Nasser Hospital – said it opened “a secure route” to allow civilians to exit, while medics and patients could remain inside.

However, witnesses and medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) said those sheltering inside were afraid to leave after reports people were shot on the way out. The Israeli army also fired on people inside the hospital, including a doctor and a nurse.

More than 2,500 people, including patients, medics, and their families, are still inside the hospital, according to Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Dr. Ashraf al-Qudra. The situation has worsened in the past 48 hours, with about 400 patients in critical condition.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been denied access to Nasser Hospital since January 29, preventing them from providing assistance or verifying reports of casualties and damage.

“We tried several times to go there, but our requests have been denied. We heard reports about some 400 patients still being there, that 10 people have been killed, that a warehouse has been destroyed,” he told Al Jazeera.