Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa Hospital in Gaza's Deir Al-Balah part of 'systematic' dismantling of healthcare

On Wednesday, the Israeli army once again struck the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, dealing another blow to one of the last functioning medical centres in the war-ravaged coastal enclave and deepening a humanitarian crisis for thousands of displaced Palestinians.

At around 3 am, a series of explosions shattered the pre-dawn silence. According to the Gaza-based government media office, at least three Israeli drones fired directly at the hospital's rooftop, damaging vital infrastructure, including water tanks essential for surgery and sterilisation.

"This attack has brought our surgical capacity to a halt," Khalil al-Daqran, spokesperson for the hospital, told The New Arab. "Without clean water, we cannot sterilise instruments or maintain hygiene in our intensive care and operating rooms. This is not a mistake; it is systematic."

This latest hit, al-Daqran says, is part of a broader strategy aimed at systematically dismantling what remains of Gaza's healthcare system.

"This hospital serves tens of thousands from Deir al-Balah and neighbouring camps," he said. "Bombing its water supply isn't just a military activity; it sends a message that no place is safe, not even spaces of healing."

Medical workers at the hospital described a harrowing scene following the strike. Emad al-Ajrami, an emergency physician, said the staff were in the middle of treating casualties from an earlier airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp when the hospital itself was hit.

"We were preparing a child for artificial respiration when the walls shook. Glass shattered. People screamed. We rushed to move patients away from windows and shut down one of the operating rooms," he described. "Several critical patients had to be moved to the ground floor."

As Al-Aqsa Hospital continues to absorb the wounded, its corridors bear the scars of a war that increasingly respects no red lines. Staff work through their trauma with trembling hands.

"We hold stethoscopes, not weapons. But who will remain to heal the wounded if medical staff become the target?" al-Ajrami said.

"The strike on Al-Aqsa is more than a military operation. It is a message, a chilling reminder that in Gaza, even the sanctuaries of healing have become frontline. And while the world debates legalities, the patients and doctors of Deir al-Balah are left to clean up shattered glass, tend to open wounds, and hope the next strike won't finish the job," he added.

There has been no official statement from the Israeli military regarding the incident. In past attacks on healthcare infrastructure, the army has routinely claimed that Hamas and other armed groups operate out of civilian facilities, including hospitals, offering no proof; and an accusation consistently denied by Palestinian officials.

According to local authorities, Wednesday's strike marks the eleventh time Al-Aqsa Hospital has been targeted since 7 October 2023. Previous attacks damaged patient wards and administrative buildings.

'Every shift is a struggle against death'

The impact on patients and staff has been devastating. Nurse Heba Nassar, who works in the paediatrics unit, told TNA they were already operating with minimal supplies and deteriorating sanitation.

"Every shift is a struggle against death," she said. "Now we don't even have clean water to disinfect wounds or clean surgical tools. We see children more terrified by the bombs than by their illnesses."

Rana Abu Maraq, 22, was recovering from complications related to diabetes when the explosion occurred. "I had just received my insulin and was resting," she recalled to TNA. "Suddenly, I felt the bed tremble, glass crashing, people screaming. I was frozen in fear, crying, unable to move."

Nearby, Salem Al-Aila, 53, who was being treated for pelvic fractures, said he felt utterly exposed. "When I arrived here, I thought this was a place of safety. But even hospital beds can't shield us from the bombs," he said.

Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023, the enclave's health sector has been pushed to the point of collapse. More than 400 medical workers have been killed, and hundreds of facilities either destroyed or heavily damaged, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Hospitals now face dire shortages in medicine, anaesthetics, and fuel for life-saving generators.

Amid these conditions, Al-Aqsa Hospital remained one of the few operational centres serving central Gaza, but it is now overwhelmed hosting internally displaced people fleeing both the north and south of the enclave.

Still, it continues to function, barely.

"This hospital stands not just as a place of treatment but as a last refuge," al-Daqran said. "If we fall, where will the injured go? Who will stitch their wounds when their homes collapse on them?"

'A pattern, not an accident'

"This is not an isolated event; it is a campaign," Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based human rights researcher, told TNA.

"Each time, the justification is alleged militant activity. Yet evidence is rare, and there's no meaningful investigation. Hospitals are no longer protected zones; they're being redefined as military targets," he said.

Under the Geneva Conventions, attacks on medical facilities are strictly prohibited unless those facilities are used to commit acts harmful to the enemy.

Even then, adequate warning must be given, and evacuation must be allowed [none of which happened] according to hospital staff.

In a press statement, the Gaza-based government media office called the strike a "war crime," urging the international community to hold Israel accountable and to dispatch investigative missions to document the violations.

"The occupation bears full responsibility for this crime," the statement read. "The international community's silence, especially with Washington's continued military and political backing of Israel, has only emboldened these attacks."

The hospital administration has also appealed for immediate protection, insisting on no military presence within the facility.

"All our patients and staff are civilians," it said in a press statement. "We treat people regardless of political affiliation."

Despite the appeals, no independent investigation has been announced, and no accountability has been enforced for previous attacks on Gaza's hospitals.

"This isn't just about war; It is about dismantling the last remnants of civilian life in Gaza, healthcare, shelter, water, and dignity. Bombing hospitals turns survival into a gamble," Ismail Thawabta, the head of the government media office, remarked.