Israel kills at least 30 Palestinians across Gaza: ministry

At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military strikes across Gaza, mostly in the north where one attack hit a hospital, torching medical supplies and disrupting operations, the enclave's health officials said.

Eid Sabbah, director of nursing at Kamal Adwan - which is in Beit Lahia - told Reuters on Thursday some staff had suffered minor burns after the Israeli strike hit the third floor of the hospital.

Israel's military has accused the Palestinian resistance group Hamas of using Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia for military purposes and said "dozens of terrorists" have been hiding there. Palestinian health officials and Hamas deny the charge.

Northern Gaza, where Israel claimed in January it had dismantled Hamas' command structure, is currently the main focus of the military's assault in the enclave. Earlier this month it sent tanks into Jabalia, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya.

There were no reports of any casualties at the hospital, which Israeli forces stormed and briefly occupied last week. Israel claimed it had captured around 100 suspected Hamas fighters in that raid. Israeli tanks are still stationed nearby.

The Health Ministry in the Palestinian enclave called for all international bodies "to protect hospitals and medical staff from the brutality of the (Israeli) occupation".

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said on Thursday that one of its doctors at the hospital had been detained last Saturday by Israeli forces. It called for the protection of him and all medical staff who "are facing horrific violence as they try to provide care".

Israel launched a brutal war on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israeli towns on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's assault on Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians and reduced most of the enclave to rubble, Palestinian authorities say.