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Warehouse strike in Deir al-Balah
Israeli air strikes in Gaza on Saturday killed two Palestinians in the Sheikh Radwan area of Gaza City and destroyed two warehouses near a hospital that were said to be storing medicine, as Israel’s military said the attacks were directed by the Shin Bet intelligence agency.
“directed by the Shin Bet intelligence agency”
In Deir al-Balah in southern Gaza, an Israeli air strike destroyed two warehouses used to store medicine by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, and Reuters footage showed a crater several metres wide with debris including what appeared to be medical supplies close to a densely packed tent encampment.
Palestinian health officials said the hospital’s outpatient clinic and two other warehouses storing medicine were damaged in the strike, and the hospital said the warehouses had stored essential medical supplies used to treat kidney failure patients undergoing dialysis, along with gauze used in wound care and routine treatment.
Khalil al-Daqran, a doctor at the hospital, said the Israeli strike targeted a warehouse containing medical supplies in the middle of the night, and he told Reuters, "The Israeli occupation has committed a heinous crime."
Evacuation warnings and higher tolls
Witnesses said the military had issued an evacuation warning for the area before carrying out the Deir al-Balah strike, while the Palestinian Health Ministry said the attack destroyed two medical warehouses at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and damaged two others.
The CBC reported that there were no immediate reports of any injuries, but it also quoted Khalil al-Daqran describing the warehouse destruction as complete, and it described the strike as occurring amid uncertainty over whether Israel had accepted a deal reached with Hamas over the group’s disarmament.
Al Jazeera reported that an Israeli air strike destroyed a warehouse full of medical supplies for Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, according to hospital staff, and it said the Israeli army had no immediate comment.
In the same hospital context, Al Jazeera Net said the strike destroyed the stock of medicines and medical supplies entirely and threatened the operation of vital departments, most notably the dialysis unit, and it quoted the hospital administration describing the strike as "a crime and a continuation of a genocidal war."
Ceasefire roadmap and health system risk
The strikes came as U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, which both Israel and Hamas agreed to last year and which started with the ceasefire, and Trump said Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons.
“Trump said that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons”
CBC said Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week at the White House, while Netanyahu had yet to comment publicly and his National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called the agreement unacceptable and said Israel must continue to carry out its policy of assassinating Hamas leaders.
Euronews said the Peace Council reached an agreement with Hamas to halt Israeli military operations and enter a second phase that would include Hamas handing over its weapons and an Israeli withdrawal, while Hamas Politburo member Bassam Naim accused the occupation of escalating and urged mediators to press Israel to stop aggression in all its forms.
In the health-system stakes described by Al Jazeera Net, the Gaza Health Ministry said hospitals received eight martyrs and 76 injured in the past 48 hours, and it said the occupation’s targeting of medicine stores at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital led to the suspension of essential services, with the director of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital warning that destroying the warehouse poses "a great danger to patients."
