3 doctors, including 2 of MSF, killed in Israeli strike on last remaining functional hospital in Northern Gaza

Three doctors have been killed in the latest Israeli strike on Al Awda Hospital, one of the last remaning functional hospitals in Northern Gaza. Two of the three deceased doctors, Dr Mahmoud Abu Nujaila and Dr Ahmad Al Sahar, were from French medical charity Médecins sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Both the MSF doctors were in the facility when it was hit on the third and the fourth floors. Other medical staff, including those from MSF were have also been injured in the strike. “MSF has regularly shared information about Al Awda as a functioning hospital and the presence of its staff in Al Awda to warring parties. GPS coordinates were also shared with Israeli authorities,” MSF said in a statement. “We condemn this strike in the strongest terms and yet again call for the respect and protection of medical facilities, staff and patients,” MSF said. Till 21 November, 2023, more than 200 patients were still admitted in Al Awda and were unable to receive the level of care they need, claimed MSF. “These patients must be urgently and safely evacuated to other hospitals that are still functioning although all hospitals in Gaza have been working beyond their capacities since October due to ongoing shortages, attacks and extremely high caseload,” it said. “Seeing doctors killed next to hospital beds is beyond tragic, and this must stop now,” MSF said, adding that the attacks on medical facilities are a “serious violation of International Humanitarian Law, and this has become systematic in the past weeks.” MSF has been working in Al Awda since 2018, providing reconstructive surgeries for adults and trauma surgeries for children. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) mourned the deaths of three doctors and a patient companion at Al Awda who were reportedly killed in an attack on the hospital on Tuesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Israel and Hamas backed a deal to free about 50 hostages from Gaza in return for a four-day ceasefire and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners - the first lull in a conflict that began on 7 October and has killed thousands of civilians. What’s Israel-Hamas deal? In the initial stage of the deal mediated by Qatar, Hamas will free 50 Israeli women and children held in Gaza. In a statement posted on Telegram, Hamas said, in return, Israel has agreed to release about 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and children. In a second stage that could see the halt in fighting extended, the release of every 10 additional hostages by Hamas will lengthen the pause in fighting by one day, a statement by the Israeli prime minister’s office said. “The humanitarian pause will also allow the entry of a larger number of humanitarian convoys and relief aid, including fuel designated for humanitarian needs,” Qatar’s government said in a statement early Wednesday. “The starting time of the pause will be announced within the next 24 hours and last for four days, subject to extension," it added. With inputs from agencies