GAZA, May 23, 2025 (WAFA) — The administration of Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza issued an urgent appeal on Friday to international organizations, calling for immediate intervention to extinguish a fire that has been raging since Thursday in the hospital’s medicine warehouse following an Israeli airstrike.

The hospital called on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, and other relevant UN bodies to take swift action and coordinate with Gaza’s civil defense teams to access the site, located in the Tel al-Zaatar area of Jabalia refugee camp.

"The fire is still burning inside the hospital's medical storage facility," the hospital administration said in a statement, warning that the ongoing blaze "threatens to escalate the already catastrophic health crisis and endangers the lives of both patients and medical staff."

On Thursday, the hospital reported that Israeli forces had deliberately targeted the facility’s medicine depot, igniting a fire. Hours later, Israeli troops detonated an explosive-laden robot near the hospital, causing further extensive damage in what was described as a continued attack on a vital medical institution.

Al-Awda Hospital is a privately-run healthcare facility with branches in central Gaza and Jabalia. Despite being severely impacted by the blockade and the ongoing war, it continues to provide limited medical services to patients and the wounded.

Since launching its assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have systematically targeted the enclave’s healthcare infrastructure, rendering most hospitals inoperative and putting the lives of thousands of patients and injured civilians at grave risk.

Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels, exacerbated by Israel’s closure of border crossings since March 2. This blockade has prevented the entry of food, medicine, humanitarian aid, and fuel, pushing the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse.

M.N