Gaza: A fire has erupted at the al-Awda Hospital’s drug depot in Tal az-Zaatar, northern Gaza, following an Israeli attack, according to local media reports. The strike marks another hit on critical medical infrastructure in a region already overwhelmed by casualties and severely limited healthcare capacity.
Al-Awda Hospital, which has long served as a key facility in northern Gaza, is among the many hospitals targeted throughout Israel’s ongoing military campaign. The fire, reportedly ignited by direct shelling or an airstrike, threatens the little remains of the hospital’s essential medical supplies, compounding an already catastrophic healthcare crisis.
Footages shows flames spreading through the depot area, as exhausted medical staff and civilians scramble to control the blaze without access to adequate fire-fighting equipment or water. Fuel shortages, ongoing air raids, and blocked humanitarian routes have made emergency response efforts nearly impossible.
This attack comes as Israeli forces continue their assaults across Gaza, with at least 38 Palestinians killed today alone. Health officials and humanitarian groups warn that the destruction of hospitals—whether by deliberate targeting or indirect damage—is a violation of international humanitarian law, and further endangers the lives of thousands of wounded civilians and displaced families sheltering in medical facilities.
The World Health Organization and other international bodies have repeatedly called for the protection of Gaza’s healthcare system. Yet with each passing day, more hospitals go dark, medical workers are killed or forced to flee, and the population is left with nowhere to turn for life-saving treatment.
The strike on al-Awda Hospital’s drug depot highlights a deepening pattern of attacks on Gaza’s vital infrastructure, fueling accusations of collective punishment and further eroding the region’s already fragile humanitarian lifelines.
