Israeli strikes kill 28 Palestinians near a hospital in Gaza

AFP , Wednesday 14 May 2025

Gaza rescuers said Israeli strikes close to the European hospital in Khan Younis killed at least 28 Palestinians late on Tuesday, after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his occupation army would enter Gaza "with full force" in the coming days.

Palestinians evacuate patients from the European hospital in Khan Younis
Palestinians evacuate patients from the European hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, after it was hit by an Israeli army airstrike. AP

 

AFPTV footage showed large craters gouged into the ground and cracks in the courtyard outside the hospital. A damaged bus was lodged in one hole.

"Everyone inside the hospital, patients and wounded alike, was running in fear, some on crutches, others screaming for their children, while others were being dragged on beds," Amro Tabash, a local photojournalist, told AFP.

The release of Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, who had been in captivity since their October 2023, offered a brief pause in the fighting on Monday.

But the strikes resumed amid fierce new criticism of Israel's tactics in the war.

Earlier, the occupation army struck Hamas Nasser Hospital, also in Khan Younis, killing two people, including a journalist Hassan Aslih, the civil defence said.

 

'Under fire' 
 

"In the very coming days, we are going in with full force to complete the operation," Netanyahu was quoted as saying in a statement released on Tuesday."There will be no situation where we stop the war. A temporary ceasefire might happen, but we are going all the way."

The Israeli warnings came amid new condemnation of its war tactics.

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher called on the UN Security Council to take action "to prevent genocide" in Gaza as he gave a scathing account of Israel's war on the Palestinian territory.

"Will you act -- decisively -- to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law?" he said to UN ambassadors in New York.

In Paris, President Emmanuel Macron said that Netanyahu's blocking aid to Gaza were "shameful".

Late Tuesday, the Israeli army ordered civilians in several parts of northern Gaza to evacuate after it intercepted "two projectiles" fired from the territory.

The armed wing of Hamas ally Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for rocket fire into Israel, which has been rare in recent weeks.

Israel resumed major attacks across Gaza on March 18 ending a January 19 ceasefire.

The Israeli government this month approved plans to expand its offensive, with officials talking of retaining a long-term presence in Gaza, while Hamas has revealed it was engaged in direct talks with Washington on a new ceasefire.
 

'Over 50 percent will leave' 
 

Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to start a Gulf tour that will also take him to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Netanyahu said late Monday that Israel was working to find countries willing to take in Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli ministers have seized on a proposal initially floated by Trump for expelling Gazans to neighbouring countries such as Jordan or Egypt, which have flatly rejected the proposal.

Trump's proposal that the United States “takes over” Gaza and displace the Palestinians has received Arab and global condemnation.

The UN and experts confirmed that Trump's bombshell proposal would be blatantly illegal under international law.

"We've set up an administration that will allow them (Gaza residents) to leave but... we need countries willing to take them in. That's what we're working on right now." Netanyahu claimed that "over 50 percent will leave" if given the option.

Since Oct.7, 2023, Israel's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 52,908 people, most of them women and children.
 

* This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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