'No one could save them': Witnesses describe horror of Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

Fire spread rapidly through back-to-back tents made of nylon and wood

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Most of the people were still asleep early on Monday when an Israeli air strike hit the Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital compound in central Gaza. Four people were killed and at least 70 wounded as a blaze ripped through the back-to-back tents sheltering displaced Palestinians.

Witnesses told The National that the scenes were “horrific”.

“We were hurled away when the blast first happened and then started to move from one place to another,” Ahmad Abu Asad, 29, told The National. The tents, which were made of flammable nylon and wood, also contained clothes and furniture which helped the fire to spread quickly.

“No one could save the people trapped inside, because the situation was extremely dangerous,” he said. “Even the rescue teams were struggling to save some of the victims.”

With Israel's continuing blockade of fuel from entering Gaza, people have also had to rely on gas cylinders for their needs and these may have exploded in the hospital compound as fire spread.

“The sight of people coming out of the fire was horrific, unbearable for any human being. It clearly shows the Israeli occupation’s determination to kill people without regard for any laws or international agreements,” Mr Abu Asad said.

Israel often claims to be targeting Hamas fighters inside hospitals that it bombs, resulting in many civilian casualties and heavy damage.

Nihad Jaber's son was injured in the attack.

“We were sleeping peacefully when we suddenly felt our tent fly and crash land as the explosion shook the entire place,” the 34-year-old who was displaced from the southern city of Rafah told The National.

Mr Jaber looked for his family and found his wife and daughter unharmed. His son was bleeding from his head. “Moments later, we saw a huge fire burning and thank God, we fled before it reached our tent.”

The fire did not stop growing, he said. “After taking my son to the emergency department I saw it consume all the tents we were surrounded by – including the ones filled with displaced families.”

“These people are gone, burnt inside, and no one will be able to save them.”

Mr Jaber said he kept hearing more explosions. Social media video showed tents ablaze as people tried to douse the fires. Bodies were seen on the ground as flimsy structures packed tightly together in the walled complex burned.

The casualties included “dangerous injuries” sustained by women and children, the Ministry of Health said.

The compound is in the central Gaza city of Deir Al Balah, where a million people are sheltering from Israeli military operations. The United Nations, which has been heavily critical of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza, has accused Israel of allowing a humanitarian crisis to run out of control in the Palestinian enclave.

On Sunday night at least 20 Palestinians, including a baby, were killed in another Israeli attack on a school sheltering the displaced in Al Nuseirat refugee camp, the UN and media reports said.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (the UNRWA) said the school was to be used as a site for the second round of a polio vaccination campaign that is to begin in central Gaza on Monday.

Under siege

Since October 1, Israel has banned the entry of any food, water or aid into Jabalia, in northern Gaza, where it is carrying out daily deadly attacks, having effectively isolated it from the rest of the besieged strip. After nine days of siege, people have started to run out of food and water, according to appeals made by civilians and aid groups.

The Ministry of Health urged for the immediate supply of food and medicine for the patients and staff trapped in hospitals in northern Gaza.

Fawzi Ahmed, 22, is stuck in the west of Jabalia's refugee camp with his family. He said Israeli forces remain stationed there and in the east – completely cutting the area off and shooting at anyone that approaches. He said the bombardment is getting closer.

“The sounds were incredibly loud, and every moment we thought we were going to die because the army was so close, and the explosions were right next to us,” he told The National.

Mr Ahmed confirmed what other witnesses have said about the area as emergency crews are prevented from entering and tending to the injured and dead.

“As for the bodies, many of the civilians’ remains are still lying in the streets and under the rubble because ambulance and civil defence teams cannot reach them due to the dangerous situation and constant Israeli targeting,” he said.

In recent days, Israel has arrested men in Jabalia and ordered the women to head south to an uncertain fate. Mr Ahmed said he is no longer able to get drinking water for his family. “Everyone is thirsty. We don't know what to do.”

“The Israeli army is killing anyone who tries to move to get water or food, which makes the situation even more dire, putting our lives in serious danger.”

At least two people were killed and five others, including three children, were injured in Israeli strikes on a school housing displaced people in Jabalia on Monday morning, official news agency Wafa reported. Witnesses said homes were “demolished while people were still inside” by Israeli forces. “Their bodies are still under the rubble,” they told Wafa.

The United Nations, which has been heavily critical of the Israeli government's actions, has accused Israel of allowing a humanitarian crisis to spiral out of control.