The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Thursday that Al-Durra Children’s Hospital, located in the eastern part of Gaza City, is now completely out of service following a direct Israeli airstrike. The strike, which took place on Tuesday, targeted the intensive care unit (ICU) and the hospital’s solar panels—lifelines that had kept the facility functional amidst constant power outages.
In an official statement, the Ministry confirmed that the hospital sustained major structural damage as a result of the attack, rendering it inoperable.
This marks the 37th hospital to be forced out of operation in Gaza since the beginning of the ongoing Israeli offensive.
Hamas condemned the attack, calling it “yet another addition to the occupation’s long record of flagrant violations of international law and humanitarian conventions”.
“It highlights this fascist entity’s commitment to proceeding with the genocidal war and forced displacement scheme by decimating Gaza’s health infrastructure and deepening the humanitarian catastrophe.”
The Ministry of Health strongly condemned the attack, calling it a deliberate assault on the right to life for Gaza’s children, and a continuation of Israel’s systematic war on healthcare in the besieged Strip.
“This is not just the denial of medicine and food,” the ministry stated. “This is a deliberate effort to erase the very existence of Gaza’s children.”
Al-Durra Children’s Hospital served as a vital pediatric centre in the densely populated Al-Tuffah neighbourhood of Gaza City. The destruction of its ICU and power infrastructure leaves countless children without access to critical care.
Health officials and humanitarian groups have repeatedly warned that Gaza’s healthcare system has collapsed, with patients, especially children, now facing death from treatable illnesses and injuries due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and relentless airstrikes on medical facilities.
According to UN, in addition, the functionality and accessibility of health service points have been severely affected by the security situation and the issuance of displacement orders, with 146 health service points (57 per cent of the partially or fully functional health facilities) in areas under displacement orders, creating serious access issues for communities needing urgent and essential health services.
“While the capacity of medical staff remains insufficient to manage the current caseload, the deployment of emergency medical teams (EMTs), supported by WHO, is one of the much-needed interventions to the ongoing health response. Currently, there are 21 functional EMTs including two in Gaza, two in North Gaza governorate, eight in Deir al Balah, eight in Khan Younis and one in Rafah,” UN said in a humanitarian update.
