Last hospital in North Gaza evacuated amid Israeli order

The last operational hospital in the North Gaza governorate, al-Awda Hospital, has been forced to shut down following an evacuation order from the Israeli military, according to its director, Dr. Mohammed Salha.

Dr. Salha confirmed that all patients were evacuated from the hospital in Jabalia on the evening of Thursday. May 29, 2025.

He told the BBC the decision came after enduring a two-week siege, adding that the forced evacuation left the region without any functioning healthcare facilities.

“We are feeling really bad about this forced evacuation,” he said, noting the dire impact on healthcare access in the area.

The Israeli military has not yet responded to the report, but the BBC has reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.

In a voice message shared with the BBC, Dr. Salha explained the urgency of the situation.

“We’re really sad that we evacuated the hospital, but the Israeli occupation forces threatened us that if we didn’t evacuate, they would enter and kill whoever is inside,” he said.

He added that the hospital was also threatened with bombing.

“We were thinking of the lives of patients and our staff.”

Dr. Salha described intense shelling and gunfire from Israeli tanks beginning around noon local time (09:00 GMT) on Thursday.

He received a call from Israeli forces at approximately 13:00, demanding a full evacuation.

Despite his initial refusal, citing patients still in critical condition, he offered to remain behind with 10 staff members while others left.

However, this offer was rejected.

After seven hours of negotiations, the evacuation took place around 20:30.

With the surrounding roads heavily damaged, medical staff had to carry patients over 300 meters to ambulances waiting at a distance.

A video verified by the BBC shows a line of ambulances with flashing lights making their way through the night to transport the patients.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that due to the damaged infrastructure, no medical equipment could be salvaged from the hospital during the evacuation.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that two weeks of ongoing hostilities had already caused significant damage.

According to them, it had caused huge damage to the hospital, restricted access, and instilled fear, discouraging people from seeking treatment.

Following the evacuation, patients were relocated to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Dr. Salha mentioned that they would continue offering services through a primary healthcare center in Gaza City.

He also mentioned that efforts were underway to establish another facility within a shelter.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO’s Director-General, expressed deep concern over the shutdown of al-Awda Hospital.

He stated that it marked the end of all hospital services in North Gaza.

“This severs a critical lifeline for the people there,” he said.

He urged for the protection of healthcare workers and facilities, emphasizing that hospitals should never be militarized or attacked.

On the same day, the IDF ordered evacuations of several areas including Al-Atatra, Jabalia Al-Balad, Shujaiya, Al-Daraj, and Al-Zeitoun.

Spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on social media that the IDF intended to escalate operations in these areas to target terrorist organizations.

It further warned residents that these zones would now be considered active combat areas.

Although al-Awda Hospital was located within an evacuation zone announced earlier, it had continued to function until Thursday.

A joint statement from 18 humanitarian organizations described the hospital as being under siege for the fourth time since October 2023.

They reported that the facility had been hit at least 28 times, including direct strikes to the emergency room, which injured four staff members.

The hospital’s desalination plant and storage unit were also destroyed, resulting in the total loss of medical supplies and equipment.

The IDF told the BBC last week it was conducting operations against terror targets in the area.

It however denied knowledge of a specific siege on the hospital.

Aside from hospitals, some primary healthcare centers remain in operation across Gaza.

According to OCHA, as of May 18, 61 out of 158 centers were at least partially functional.

Additionally, nine of the 27 health centers run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees were still operating.

Although it was unclear how many of these, if any, were located in North Gaza.

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