Chicago – April 14, 2025
An Israeli air strike early on Sunday has incapacitated the last fully functioning hospital in Gaza City as the military expands and intensifies its campaign across the territory.
No casualties were reported from the strike but the Anglican church in Jerusalem – which runs the Al-Ahli Baptist hospital – said a boy with a head injury died in the rushed evacuation of patients. It said that the hospital had received only 20 minutes warning ahead of the strike and was forced to take patients into the streets.
Parts of the hospital – including the emergency room and reception area – were extensively damaged. There was also damage to the adjoining St Philip’s church, according to video received by CNN.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that they had struck “a command-and-control center used by Hamas” in attack, without offering proof. They said steps had been taken ahead of the strike to mitigate harm to civilians. Hamas denied the allegation the hospital was being used for military purposes.
The Israeli military is extending its ground operations deep into Gaza, creating a large buffer zone between the Strip and Israeli territory and pushing hundreds of thousands of civilians into an ever-smaller area on the Mediterranean coast. In the south, the military announced it seized the Morag corridor, cutting off Rafah from the rest of Gaza. On Sunday night the defense ministry said the IDF had “completed the occupation of the Morag axis” making the area “part of the Israeli security zone,” adding that the northern border area in Gaza was also being expanded as part of the “security zone.”
