Israel Hits Gaza's Biggest Hospital, Thousands Flee To South As Death Toll Crosses 11,000 — Updates

Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, stated that "Israeli tanks fired on Al-Shifa hospital," but the Israeli military did not respond immediately. 

Representational Image.

Source : AP

The Gaza Strip's Hamas leadership on Friday stated that an Israeli airstrike on the territory's biggest hospital killed 13 people, news agency AFP reported. A government statement reported "thirteen martyrs and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on Al-Shifa compound today" in central Gaza City, citing a toll that AFP could not independently verify. Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital, stated that "Israeli tanks fired on Al-Shifa hospital," but the Israeli military did not respond immediately. 

Top Points:

• Thousands of Palestinians fleeing the Israel-Hamas conflict at Gaza City's major hospital on Friday following numerous reported attacks in and near the facility overnight, AP reported. They joined a rising migration of Palestinians fleeing fierce urban warfare in the north, including near other hospitals, as Gaza officials said that the territory's dead toll had topped 11,000 people.
• According to the World Health Organisation, around 12 children with cancer or blood problems have been transferred from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan to complete their treatment in safety, CNN reported. 
• Tens of thousands of additional refugees from the north, including those from Shifa, poured down the Salah al-Din route, which runs the length of the Gaza Strip, and arrived in the centre city of Deir al-Balah on Friday. The masses had walked for hours as explosions resonated a short distance away due to a lack of gasoline for automobiles. There were wounded and elderly persons among them.
• Israeli tanks have encircled a Gaza hospital, according to its director, while strikes allegedly targeted the vicinity of other healthcare institutions in the Strip, raising worries Friday that Israel's military assault is harming patients and medical workers in the beleaguered enclave.
• Cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) continued Friday, according to Lebanon's state-run NNA news agency.
• The Israel Defence Forces declared on Friday a six-hour opportunity for individuals fleeing northern Gaza to use an evacuation route along Salah Eddin Street. It said that the corridor will be available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET to 9 a.m. ET). According to the Israeli government and the United Nations, thousands of Gazans have migrated south in recent days.
• Since October 7, more than 100 workers of the primary UN organisation working in the Palestinian territories have been slain in Gaza. "Devastated," wrote Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), on X, previously Twitter, appealing for a ceasefire.
• In response to a video displaying a child hostage being held in Gaza, UNICEF's chief called for the unconditional release of all captives on Thursday. “UNICEF is aware of an apparent video of an Israeli child held hostage in Gaza,” Executive Director Catherine Russell said on X, formerly Twitter. “Abduction of children is horrific & a grave violation. We reiterate our call for an unconditional, immediate & safe release of the hostages & protection of ALL children-wherever or whoever they are.”
• The Arab League has urged a "complete ceasefire" in Gaza, according to a statement released on Thursday, CNN reported.