Israel Targets Gaza City’s Last Functioning Hospital as Hamas Delegation Arrives in Cairo
Israel has intensified its strikes in Gaza, targeting a main hospital in the north of the Strip and forcing patients to evacuate, reported Reuters.
On early Sunday, an Israeli strike hit Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, after an evacuation warning, destroying the emergency and reception wards, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The strikes came hours after Hamas leaders arrived in Cairo to hold discussions with Egyptian mediators over the stalled ceasefire agreement.
Attacking Al-Ahli Hospital
Two Israeli missiles targeted a building inside Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, which Israel claimed Hamas fighters were using. In a statement, the Israeli military said that Hamas elements used the targeted facility to plan attacks, adding that it took steps to reduce civilian damage.
The Baptist Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, which runs the hospital, said that the Israeli military issued an evacuation order 20 minutes before the strike. In a statement, the Church said that the attack destroyed the Genetic Laboratory and caused damages to the Pharmacy and Emergency Department buildings and surrounding structures, including the St. Philip’s Church building.
Christian Holiday
The attack also coincided with the Palm Sunday, a commemoration of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem. “The Diocese of Jerusalem is appalled but the bombing of the hospital is now for the fifth time since the beginning of the war in 2023 – and this time was on the morning of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week,” the Baptist Church’s statement said.
“We call upon all governments and people of goodwill to intervene to stop all kinds of attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions,” it added.
Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital is the only functioning hospital in Gaza City after the destruction of Al-Shifa medical complex and other hospitals in northern Gaza, according to BBC.
Meanwhile, Israel prevented the West Bank’s Christians from entering Jerusalem to participate in the Palm Sunday service, reported the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week that ends up with Easter.
Hospital Out of Service
The attack has taken the hospital out of operation. The Gaza Health Ministry’s spokesperson, Khalil Al-Deqran, said: “Hundreds of patients and injured people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night, and many of them are now out in the streets without medical care, which puts their lives at risk.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the attack on Al-Ahli Hospital, accusing Israel of destroying Gaza’s healthcare system. The Associated Press (AP) reported that the assault killed one patient during the evacuation process because he did not receive urgent care.
Since the breakout of war in Gaza, Israel has carried out numerous attacks on hospitals, besieging and bombing them, accusing Hamas of using them as cover for its fighters, according to the AP.
Encircling Rafah
The attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital also came hours after the Israeli military announced it had completed the encirclement of Rafah, through the construction of the Morag Corridor, a new security corridor separating Rafah from the rest of Gaza, reported the AP. Since Israel resumed fighting in Gaza on March 18, its military has issued repeated evacuation warnings for Palestinians in Rafah.
In a statement, the Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said: “Activity will expand rapidly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones.”
Israel has intensified its military operations in the Gaza Strip, vowing to seize large parts of the enclave to pressure Hamas to release the remaining hostages and accept the proposed new ceasefire terms. Moreover, the Israeli government imposed a blockade on the delivery of food, fuel and humanitarian aid, leaving Gaza’s population in dire humanitarian conditions.
Cairo Talks
A delegation from Hamas arrived in Cairo on Saturday for talks with Egyptian mediators on a ceasefire agreement that ends the war in Gaza. “A Hamas delegation led by Khalil al-Hayya has departed to Cairo at the invitation of the Egyptian side today,” the movement said in a statement on Telegram. It added that discussions aim to “reach a ceasefire agreement with negotiators from Egypt and Qatar.”
The Palestinian group expects significant progress, according to a Hamas official. “We hope the meeting will achieve real progress towards reaching an agreement to end the war, halt the aggression and ensure the full withdrawal of occupation forces from Gaza,” the official told AFP.
After nearly a two-month truce, ceasefire negotiations collapsed on March 18, 2025, and Israel resumed its air and ground operations in Gaza. Egypt, Qatar and the US have been making extensive diplomatic efforts to bridge the gaps between Hamas and Israel and reach a deal to release all hostages and halt the war.
