The World Health Organization, WHO, and Palestinian health officials on Saturday said an Israeli military raid targeting Hamas militants has forced a major hospital in northern Gaza out of service and led to the detention of its director.

The Palestinian territory’s health officials said the assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital has rendered the facility useless and further worsening Gaza’s severe health crisis.

The WHO, in a post on X, referring to the Israeli operation that began in the early hours of Friday, said the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital had put the last major health facility in north Gaza out of service.

Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid.

According to the WHO, 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including some on ventilators, reportedly remain in the hospital.

The UN health agency said patients in moderate to severe condition were forced to evacuate to the destroyed, non-functioning Indonesian hospital, adding that it was deeply concerned for their safety.

Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry reported that Israeli forces detained Kamal Adwan Hospital’s director, Hossam Abu Safiyeh, along with several medical staff members.

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Abu Safiyeh was held alongside its north Gaza chief, Ahmed Hassan al-Kahlout.

However, the Israeli military did not comment on the detentions.

A resident of Jabalia, where the military has focused its assault in recent weeks, Ammar al-Barsh, said the raid on Kamal Adwan and its environs had left dozens of homes in the area in ruins.

“The situation is catastrophic, there is no medical service, no ambulances and no civil defence in the north.

“The army continues to raid the Kamal Adwan Hospital and the surrounding houses, and we hear gunfire from Israeli drones and artillery shelling,” Barsh said.