News – Middle East: Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population strongly condemns the ongoing targeting of hospitals by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, aiming to destroy the healthcare sector. The most recent attack occurred this morning with 40 airstrikes hitting the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

The statement elaborated that these attacks on hospitals are part of the genocidal war waged by the occupation against Palestinians, violating international agreements and laws. It highlighted the clear objective of denying survival, treatment, and care for the wounded and patients, evidenced by thousands being deprived of medical travel and pursued in hospitals.

The ministry emphasized that responsibility for these crimes extends beyond the Zionists alone to include the US and the international community, who tacitly permit such actions. It noted the unprecedented brutality and systematic destruction of hospitals, resulting in the deaths of doctors and patients.

The ministry criticized the silence of international institutions, particularly the World Health Organization, regarding the continuous targeting of hospitals in Gaza. It argued that passive reactions serve as a license for further attacks.

Calling on all free nations to intervene immediately, the ministry urged restraint on the occupation, cessation of genocidal acts, and protection of healthcare and medical institutions.

Earlier, heavily armed Israeli forces stormed the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City using tanks and drones, firing at people inside the complex.

The government media office in Gaza said the raid, which was conducted early on Monday, sparked fear and panic among thousands of patients, medical staff, and the displaced, and threatened their lives.

The new war crime “added to the black record of the occupation army, which is still committing various crimes and massacres, and continues … to eliminate the health sector and destroy hospitals” in the besieged Gaza Strip, it noted.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says some 30,000 people, including displaced civilians, wounded patients, and medical staff are trapped inside the hospital.

The ministry said anyone “who tries to move is targeted by sniper bullets and quadcopter”.

The Israeli military announced that its troops were “conducting a high-precision operation” at the al-Shifa hospital against what it called "senior fighters of Hamas."

The Health Ministry in Gaza denounced the attack as a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and the Fourth Geneva Convention, saying the regime’s army is using fabricated narratives to justify its conduct.

It also urged the international community to condemn the raid, calling for the UN to intervene to protect the hospital and those trapped inside it.

The Ministry further said that a fire broke out at the entrance of the medical compound, causing cases of suffocation among women and children.

“There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it’s impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows,” it added.

The ministry called on all international organizations to “immediately stop this Israeli massacre against the sick, the wounded, the displaced, and the medical staff inside al-Shifa Hospital”.