Two Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes that destroyed two medicine warehouses near a hospital in Gaza Saturday.
Palestinian health officials said two people were killed in an air strike in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City. The Israeli military said it had targeted Hamas militants but gave no further details.
Two warehouses storing medical supplies for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah were destroyed in a separate strike, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Hours later, the Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas hideout near the hospital, where it was said weapons were being stored. It said it also targeted other sites it claimed were used by Hamas to store weapons. The military said the Shin Bet intelligence agency ordered the operation, but provided no evidence to back up its claims.
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The Health Ministry said the strike also damaged two more medicine warehouses and the hospital’s outpatient clinic. No injuries were reported immediately.
The blast destroyed warehouses that contained critical medical supplies, including dialysis materials for kidney patients, gauze and other routine treatment and wound care items, hospital officials said.
Witnesses say the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning before the strike in Deir al-Balah.
International humanitarian law protects hospitals and other civilian facilities as long as they are not used for military purposes. Israel has accused Hamas of operating from hospitals and other civilian sites, an accusation Hamas has repeatedly denied.
The latest strikes came amid uncertainty over a reported agreement on Hamas’ disarmament in exchange for efforts to end the Gaza war.
President Donald Trump said this week that Hamas had agreed to lay down its weapons, but there has been no public comment from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the proposal.
Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the reported agreement, insisting that military operations against Hamas should continue.
