The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday condemned the deadly attack on a hospital in northern Gaza.
Hundreds of people were reportedly killed and injured when an Israeli airstrike struck al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City earlier on Tuesday.
However, the details of the incident have not been verified by agencies in the troubled zone.
In a statement posted on the WHO’s X platform, formerly Twitter, the agency’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, demanded the immediate protection of civilians in Gaza.
He wrote: “WHO strongly condemns the attack.
“We call for the immediate protection of civilians and healthcare, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed.”
The WHO said the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital was operational with patients, health, and caregivers as well as internally displaced people sheltering there.
It was one of 20 hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
“The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced,” the United Nations agency added.