Thousands of people have fled Gaza’s largest hospital as Israeli forces and Palestinian militants battle outside its gates
Members of the Palestinian health sector take part in a rally to protest the collapse of the Palestinian health services in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Sunday as ground forces battled Hamas militants near the territory’s largest hospital, where health officials say thousands of medics, patients and displaced people are trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Members of the Palestinian health sector take part in a rally to protest the collapse of the Palestinian health services in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Sunday as ground forces battled Hamas militants near the territory’s largest hospital, where health officials say thousands of medics, patients and displaced people are trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Members of the Palestinian health sector take part in a rally to protest the collapse of the Palestinian health services in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Sunday as ground forces battled Hamas militants near the territory’s largest hospital, where health officials say thousands of medics, patients and displaced people are trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Members of the Palestinian health sector take part in a rally to protest the collapse of the Palestinian health services in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Sunday as ground forces battled Hamas militants near the territory’s largest hospital, where health officials say thousands of medics, patients and displaced people are trapped with no electricity and dwindling supplies. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Thousands of people appear to have fled from Gaza’s largest hospital as Israeli forces and Palestinian militants battle outside its gates, but hundreds of patients, including dozens of babies at risk of dying because of a lack of electricity, remained inside, health officials said Monday.
With only intermittent communications, it was difficult to reconcile competing claims from the Israeli military, which said it was providing a safe corridor for people to move south, and Palestinian health officials inside the hospital, who said the compound was surrounded by constant heavy gunfire.
