Fire rips through one of Gaza’s last hospitals; Israel detains director nbcnews.com

Israel has detained the director of one of Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, Gaza’s Health ministry said Saturday after Israeli forces “forcibly” removed patients and staff, and fires burned across the hospital.

“The occupation forces arrested Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital,” the ministry said in a statement.

Fighting has raged in the areas around Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahia for nearly three months, and on Friday, Israeli forces stormed the hospital, the ministry said, forcing patients and staff to leave the hospital and arresting dozens as military vehicles surrounded the area.

Israel's foreign ministry said on X the hospital was a Hamas stronghold and that it facilitated the "secure evacuation" of civilians away from the hospital before launching its operation.

Gaza’s health ministry said fire had spread to several departments of the hospital.

NBC News' crew in Gaza captured a blaze tearing through several units on Friday, with volunteers attempting to douse the flames with buckets of water, or sifting through smoldering rubble.

Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said on X that there was no connection between the fire and IDF's activity, adding that a "small fire" broke out while IDF troops were not in the hospital.

Nurses rushed to treat the injured in a wing of the hospital unaffected by fire while in another section, the crew witnessed the moment a boy on a gurney was pronounced dead.

One woman, sitting next to several shrouded bodies stacked on the hospital floor told the NBC News crew the names of some of the dead: "Ehassan is 7 years old, Dinaa she is 10 years old, and Mohamed is 12 years old."

"What have the children done? Why are you silent?" she said, and pleaded to Allah, "reward us for our affliction and replace it with something better."

"Every day, we say farewell to roses; every day, we say farewell to grooms," she said, referring to the Gaza's youth killed in the war.

As the temperature plummeted outside, the ministry said patients and those injured in the attack were taken to the Indonesian hospital, which was already destroyed and out of service before the patients arrived.

“They are in a very miserable and difficult situation, with no water, no electricity, no blankets, no food, and no supplies,” the Health Ministry said.

In a video geolocated by NBC News to the area around the hospital, two dozen men, stripped down to minimal clothing could be seen walking in a line with their hands raised on Friday.