Israel destroys Gaza’s only cancer hospital

In a fresh raid into Gaza Strip, the Israeli military on Saturday blew up the only specialised cancer hospital in the war-torn territory.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said that they would continue to capture more land until Hamas releases its remaining hostages.

The hospital was located in the Netzarim Corridor, which is controlled by Israeli troops for most of 17-month-long war.

The forces moved to retake the corridor this week shortly after breaking the ceasefire with Hamas.

The truce which lasted just over a month calmed the situation in Gaza and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages in exchange of hundreds of Palestinians.

The military confirmed the it struck the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which was inaccessible to doctors and patients during the war.

They said that Hamas militants were operating in the site.

Turkey, which helped build and fund the hospital, said Israeli troops at one point used it as a base.

Dr. Zaki Al-Zaqzouq, head of the hospital’s oncology department, said a medical team visited the facility during the ceasefire and found that, while it had suffered damage, some facilities remained in good condition.

“I cannot fathom what could be gained from bombing a hospital that served as a lifeline for so many patients,” he said in a statement issued by the aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians.

The Turkish foreign ministry condemned the hospital’s destruction and accused Israel of deliberately “rendering Gaza uninhabitable and forcibly displacing the Palestinian people”.

Human rights groups and UN-backed experts have accused Israel of systematically destroying Gaza’s health care system.

Israel’s renewed military offensive in the Gaza Strip threatens to be even deadlier and more destructive than the last, as it pursues wider aims with far fewer constraints.