CrossFireArabia
Israeli warplanes bombed a medical warehouse near a hospital in central Gaza early Saturday morning, destroying it and causing extensive damage to nearby tents housing displaced people.
Eyewitnesses told Anadolu Agency that the Israeli army bombed a medical warehouse adjacent to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, completely destroying it and burning and destroying dozens of tents belonging to displaced people in the surrounding area.
They added that the bombing caused widespread fear and panic among patients, displaced people, and residents near the hospital.
They stated that the army issued a warning to evacuate the area minutes before bombing the warehouse.
The bombing comes at a time when the health sector in Gaza is suffering from an Israeli blockade and a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, amid strict restrictions on their entry, exacerbating the inability of hospitals to meet the needs of patients and the wounded.
Terrifying Bombing
Displaced woman Umm Muhammad Wadi, who has been living in a camp near the hospital since the beginning of the war, said that residents were asleep when they heard calls urging them to evacuate immediately.
“I started shouting to wake people up after I heard the warning,” she told Anadolu Agency, while inspecting her tent. “We rushed out carrying our children, and just minutes later the bombing happened, and the tents were completely destroyed.”
She explained that the targeted warehouse was used to store medicines and medical supplies, questioning the justification for bombing a medical facility, given the severe shortages plaguing the sector’s hospitals.
“Only the medicines buried under the rubble remain, while the medical supplies were scattered everywhere by the force of the explosion,” she said.
She added that the children in the camp live in constant fear, waking up at night to the sounds of bombing and air raid sirens, while the elderly and sick face difficulty escaping.
“This is the thirteenth time I’ve survived with my children since the beginning of the war,” she continued. “And each time, we lose our tents and have to start all over again.”
She confirmed that the displaced people remained in the open until dawn after the camp was evacuated, without knowing where to go.
She pleaded, “All we want is to live in safety like the rest of the world.”
She continued bitterly, “Where can we go? They are lying to us and deceiving us. There is no truce. Every day, young people in the prime of their lives are killed, assassinations continue, and children, women, and the elderly are being murdered.”
**Widespread Destruction**
For his part, Abu Ayman, an elderly man, said that neighbors woke the camp residents minutes before the airstrike, enabling them to leave before the explosion.
He added to Anadolu Agency, “Shortly after we left, the bombing occurred, and when we returned, we found dozens of tents had been leveled. (…) There were about a thousand displaced people in this place, and between 50 and 60 tents were completely destroyed.”
He described the scale of the destruction as “unprecedented,” noting that the crater left by the explosion reflected the intensity of the bombing that targeted the area.
For his part, displaced person Abdul Salam Hamdan said that his family left their tent after hearing evacuation calls and sought refuge in the nearby hospital building just minutes before the airstrike.
He told Anadolu Agency, “When we returned, we found nothing. Our bedding and belongings were buried under the rubble.”
He pointed out that the targeted site contained medical supplies and medicines belonging to the hospital. He said, “All you see here are medical equipment and medicines, yet the place was completely destroyed.”
