Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza and destroy its only cancer hospital

Jerusalem: Israeli forces made further advances into the Gaza Strip on Friday, destroying the only specialized cancer hospital in the area. This escalation came as Israeli officials pledged to continue expanding their control until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.

The hospital was situated in the Netzarim Corridor, an area that divided Gaza in two and had been under Israeli control for most of the 17-month-long conflict.

Israel began retaking this corridor earlier this week after breaking a ceasefire with Hamas, which had maintained relative peace in Gaza since late January and allowed the release of over two dozen hostages.

The Israeli military claimed it targeted the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital which had been inaccessible to doctors and patients during the conflict because Hamas militants were operating from the site. Türkiye, which helped establish and fund the hospital, stated that Israeli forces had used it as a base at one point, AP reported.

The head of the hospital’s oncology department, Dr Zaki Al-Zaqzouq, mentioned that a medical team had gone to the facility during the ceasefire and found it had sustained damage, but some parts remained intact. In a statement issued by the aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians, he expressed disbelief at the decision to bomb a hospital that had been a crucial resource for many patients.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the hospital’s destruction and accused Israel of deliberately “rendering Gaza uninhabitable and forcibly displacing the Palestinian people.”

Hospitals can lose their protected status under international law if they are used for military purposes, but any operations against them must be proportional. Human rights organizations and UN-backed experts have criticized Israel for systematically destroying Gaza's healthcare infrastructure.