DUBAI, September 29. /TASS/. At least 90 people have been blocked in a hospital building in Gaza City following a shelling attack by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Palestine’s WAFA news agency said.

According to it, more than 90 doctors and patients remain trapped inside the Al Helou Hospital in Gaza City shelled by the Israel army. It is noted that the medical facility hosts a cancer ward and a neonatal unit where 12 premature babies are being cared for.

According to Al Jazeera, currently, the hospital is surrounded by Israeli military hardware and tanks.

Tensions erupted again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when militants from the Gaza-based Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border settlements and seizing hostages. In response, Israel initiated a military operation in the enclave to dismantle Hamas’ military and political structure and rescue all those kidnapped.

On September 16, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the launch of Israel’s intensive offensive operation in Gaza City, the embattled enclave’s capital, aiming to fully defeat Hamas. Earlier, the IDF repeatedly warned civilians about the need to leave the combat zone, including by dropping leaflets.

According to the Maan news agency, thousands of Palestinians have fled to Al-Mawasi, where a humanitarian zone has been set up, as well as to Rafah and Khan Yunis in the southern part of the enclave. Maan noted that at least 900,000 people remain in the besieged city.