Four Gaza patients dead as oxygen cut off during Israel raid on Nasser hospital, doctors say - latest

Rafah in southern Gaza was also hit by Israeli airstrikes ahead of a planned ground invasion into the city

Thousands of pro-Palestine protesters rally outside Downing Street

At least four patients in intensive care died because their oxygen supply was cut off when Israeli troops stormed Gaza’s main hospital, according to the doctors.

Israeli special forces have stormed the last major hospital in southern Gaza, with the military saying it is a limited operation to seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas.

The raid came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The southern city has been the main target of Israel's offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. The military said it had "credible intelligence" that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of hostages might still be inside.

This comes after the UN warned that an Israeli ground invasion into Rafah could lead to slaughter as more tha one million Palestinians shelter there.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned offensive could leave an “already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door.”

Key points

• Four patients dead as Israeli troops storm hospital in Gaza, doctors say
• Israeli special forces inside Khan Younis hospital
• Israel launches 'extensive' strikes in Lebanon
• Rafah invasion could ‘lead to slaughter’, UN warns

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Israeli special forces inside hospital

Israeli special forces are operating inside Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, the military said on Thursday, claiming it had credible information that the bodies of hostages taken on 7 October may be in the facility.

"We conduct precise rescue operations – as we have in the past – where our intelligence indicates that the bodies of hostages may be held," the military said in a statement. The raid came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

The southern city has been the main target of Israel‘s offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters, something Hamas and hospital staff have denied.

[15 February 2024 10:45 · Namita Singh]

Israeli airstrikes kill 10 Lebanese civilians – reports

The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese state media reported, making the previous day the deadliest in more than four months of cross-border exchanges.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for Wednesday’s strikes, which hit in the city of Nabatiyeh and a village in southern Lebanon, just hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier.

Men check the destruction following an Israeli airstrike the previous day on the village of Taybeh near the border with Israel in southern Lebanon, on 15 February 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

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One patient dead and seven wounded in Israel army operation ‘seeking remains of hostages’

Israeli troops entered the main hospital in southern Gaza today in what the army said was a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas.

One patient died and seven were wounded when Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis came under fire on Wednesday, Dr Khaled Alserr, one of the remaining surgeons at the hospital, told The Associated Press.

Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters. The military said it had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of hostages might still be inside.

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Hamas chief says any deal should secure truce, Israeli pullout from Gaza

Any agreement between Israel and Hamas should secure a ceasefire and an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza in addition to achieving a serious prisoner swap deal, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement on Thursday.

A woman rests with children, as Palestinian arrive in Rafah after they were evacuated from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis due to the Israeli ground operation (REUTERS)

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Lebanon PM condemns Israel’s military escalation as 7 killed

More Israeli strikes were reported in south Lebanon today and Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati condemned the escalation.

“At a time where we are insisting on calm and call all sides to not escalate, we find the Israeli enemy extending its aggression,” read a statement from his office.

In Nabatiyeh, the strike knocked down part of a building, killing seven members of the family, including a child, the state-run National News Agency said. A boy initially reported missing was found alive under the rubble. Initial reports had said four people were killed.