Israeli troops ordered the evacuation of Al-Shifa hospital over loudspeakers on Saturday, an AFP journalist at the scene reported, as troops combed the facility for Hamas hideouts.
Al-Shifa hospital — Gaza's biggest — has become the focus of the Israel-Hamas war, now entering its seventh week after the October 7 attacks on southern Israel.
Israel claims Hamas operates a base underneath Al-Shifa, a charge the militants deny.
The United Nations estimated 2,300 patients, staff and displaced Palestinians were sheltering at Al-Shifa before Israeli troops moved in on Wednesday.
The Hamas health ministry in Gaza has announced dozens of deaths there as a result of power cuts caused by fuel shortages amid intense combat.
Israel has made repeated calls for the hospital to be evacuated to the south, however medical professionals say the patients cannot be moved.
Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya told AFP Israeli troops instructed him to ensure "the evacuation of patients, wounded, the displaced and medical staff, and that they should move on foot towards the seafront".
Earlier in the day, Israel's war cabinet approved letting in two fuel trucks a day into Gaza to help meet UN needs, according to an Israeli national security adviser.
Here are some of the latest developments:
- Strikes in south Gaza as displaced Palestinians are pushed further south
- Australia sanctions eight people linked to Hamas
- Israel to allow 'very minimal' amounts of fuel into Gaza
- Power cuts at Al-Shifa lead to 24 patient deaths
- UN experts alarmed by 'genocidal incitement' against Palestinians
- WHO concerned about the spread of disease in Gaza
- Israeli troops retrieve body of soldier held hostage
- World Food Programme says civilians in Gaza are facing 'immediate possibility of starvation'
Strikes in south Gaza as displaced Palestinians are pushed further south
Israeli strikes late Thursday and early Friday killed 35 people in southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Most of the Strip's population has taken refuge in the south after warnings from Israeli forces to get out of the way of its ground invasion.
But on Wednesday afternoon, Israeli forces dropped leaflets telling Palestinians in areas near Khan Younis, where many had already evacuated to, to leave for safety.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday claimed without evidence that Hamas's underground command centre, previously said to be under Al-Shifa hospital, is based in Khan Younis.
In an interview with Euronews, Mr Olmert said, "We haven't yet even come to the heart of this operation."
Chief of Staff Lt Gen Herzl Halevi said on Thursday that while "there remains work to be completed" in the north, more and more places would be targeted in the fight against Hamas.
If the assault moves into the south, it is not clear where people would go, as Egypt refuses to allow a mass transfer onto its soil.
The heads of 18 UN agencies and international charities on Thursday rejected a proposal by the Israeli military for people to move to a "safe zone" in Mawasi, a town on the Mediterranean coast a few square kilometres in size.
Australia sanctions eight people linked to Hamas
New Australian sanctions have been placed on eight people and one entity associated with Hamas, in response to the October 7 attack on Israel.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the sanctions targeted members, operatives and financial facilitators of Hamas actively engaged in supporting terrorism.
Sanctions have also been placed on a currency exchange owned by one of them.
Sanctioning the individuals means it becomes a criminal offence to provide assets to them, or entities associated with them.
Australia has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity for the purpose of imposing financial sanctions since 2001.
Israel to allow 'very minimal' amounts of fuel into Gaza
Israel's war cabinet has approved letting in two fuel trucks a day into Gaza to help meet UN needs, according to an Israeli national security adviser.
Tzachi Hanegbi said at a news conference that the fuel would be allowed for Gaza's communications system and water and sewage services.
The war cabinet's decision came after a request by the US, according to Mr Hanegbi.
He said the deliveries are intended to prevent the spread of disease, which humanitarian groups have increasingly sounded the alarm on.
Mr Hanegbi said the fuel amounted to roughly 2 to 4 per cent of the normal quantities of fuel that entered the Strip before the war began.
The lack of fuel in the besieged enclave has led to the collapse of internet and telephone services, the closure of hospitals, and the stoppage of delivery of humanitarian aid around the Strip.
Israel has barred entry to fuel since the start of the war, claiming it would be diverted by Hamas.
The amount of fuel will give "minimal" support for water, sewage and sanitary systems in Gaza to prevent pandemics, the Israeli official said.
But it appeared the amount would be far less than what the UN has said is needed.
Israel has also blocked food, water and other supplies except for a trickle of aid from Egypt that aid workers say falls far short of what's needed.
The UN said there would be no cross-border aid operation on Friday due to the fuel shortages and communication shutdown.
The Palestinian telecommunications company Paltel said on Friday phone and internet services were partially working again across Gaza.
"This comes after a limited quantity of fuel was provided through UNRWA to operate our main generators," according to a statement by Paltel on X.
NetBlocks, a group tracking internet outages, confirmed "internet connectivity is being partially restored" in the Gaza Strip.
Power cuts at Al-Shifa lead to 24 patient deaths
Gaza's health ministry said on Friday that 24 patients have died in the last two days at Al-Shifa hospital due to power cuts, as Israeli forces searched the facility for signs of Hamas.
"Twenty-four patients in different departments have died over the last 48 hours as vital medical equipment has stopped functioning because of the power outage," said ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra.
Israeli forces stormed the largest hospital in the Strip on Wednesday, claiming on Thursday that it had uncovered a Hamas tunnel shaft and a vehicle with a handful of weapons at the Al-Shifa hospital complex.
Al-Shifa staff said a premature baby died at the hospital on Friday, the first baby to die since Israeli forces entered two days ago.
Five babies were in a very serious condition, Al-Shifa compound director Muhammad Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera.
Israel said it would send help to rescue the 36 babies being kept on ordinary beds since the neo-natal ward was destroyed by strikes last week, but hospital staff said Israelis allowed in no meaningful aid for the babies or the others sheltering in the compound.
The hospital, still packed with thousands of patients and displaced people, is running out of food and water, according to a doctor there.
Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati told Reuters by telephone that the Israeli military had provided some supplies since entering, but it was insufficient.
"What happened is that the people, we run out of food, we ran out of drinking water," Dr Mokhallalati said.
"And then, yesterday, they arranged some, just some food and water, which is very, very minimal, which doesn't cover, maybe 40 per cent of the number of people around here."
UN experts alarmed by 'genocidal incitement' against Palestinians
A group of UN experts said on Thursday there was "evidence of increasing genocidal incitement" against the Palestinian people in what it said were "grave violations" committed by Israel.
"Many of us already raised the alarm about the risk of genocide in Gaza," the experts, which included several UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement.
"We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire."
The statement highlighted the death toll in Gaza and deepening humanitarian crisis, and highlighted "discernibly genocidal and dehumanising rhetoric coming from senior Israeli government officials, as well as some professional groups and public figures".
The experts urged immediate action by the UN to implement an immediate ceasefire.
WHO concerned about the spread of disease in Gaza
The World Health Organization has said it is very worried about the spread of disease in Gaza as weeks of Israeli bombardments have led to the population crowding into shelters with scarce food and clean water.
"We are extremely concerned about the spread of disease when the winter season arrives," according to Richard Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
He said that more than 70,000 cases of acute respiratory infections and over 44,000 cases of diarrhoea had been recorded, figures higher significantly higher than expected.
WHO has previously warned of "worrying trends" in the spread of disease in Gaza, where bombardments and a ground offensive have disrupted the health system, access to clean water and caused people to crowd into shelters.
The start of the rainy season and the possibility of flooding has also increased fears the densely populated enclave's sewage system will be overwhelmed and disease will spread.
The absence of fuel already has forced the shutdown of sewage pumping stations and desalination plants, increasing the risk of water contamination and the outbreak of disease.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that about 813,000 internally displaced people are staying in at least 154 shelters run by UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency.
"Overcrowding is leading to the spread of disease, including acute respiratory illness and diarrhoea, raising environmental and health concerns," OCHA warned.
Israeli troops retrieve body of soldier held hostage
The Israeli military says it has retrieved the body of Corporal Noa Marciano, who was abducted on October 7, from a structure adjacent to Al-Shifa Hospital.
On Tuesday it confirmed the death of the soldier after Hamas issued a video of her alive followed by images of what the group said was her body after she was killed in an Israeli strike.
The IDF has now said her body was returned to Israeli territory on Thursday where it was identified by medical and rabbinate personnel before informing her family.
World Food Programme says civilians in Gaza are facing 'immediate possibility of starvation'
The United Nations said there would be no cross-border aid operation on Friday due to fuel shortages and a communication shutdown.
For a second consecutive day on Thursday no aid trucks arrived in Gaza due to lack of fuel for distributing relief.
WFP executive director Cindy McCain said nearly the entire population was in desperate need of food assistance.
"Supplies of food and water are practically non-existent in Gaza and only a fraction of what is needed is arriving through the borders," she said in a statement.
"With winter fast approaching, unsafe and overcrowded shelters, and the lack of clean water, civilians are facing the immediate possibility of starvation," Ms McCain said.
Humanitarian agencies have continued to issue dire warnings about the harm Israel's offensive in Gaza is causing to civilians.
The WFP said the Gaza Strip faced widespread hunger, with supplies of food and water almost exhausted.
ABC/Wires