MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
In Gaza, hospitals in the north have shut down in the space of 24 hours. That is because Israel has begun a new ground operation in Gaza in which it says it plans to take territory and hold it. In a moment, we will hear from the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, about the latest offensive and how European allies are responding. First, though, NPR's Aya Batrawy reports on how hospitals in Gaza rapidly collapsed in the face of an offensive that has killed hundreds in the past week and displaced tens of thousands more.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: A home has just been struck in northern Gaza's Jabalia. It's Tuesday night, and this video by rescue workers shows them digging with their bare hands and a shovel to reach a family buried in the rubble. A young girl in her pajamas is pulled out lifeless.
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BATRAWY: But a young boy - bleeding, stunned, covered in dust - is among those carried out alive, except there's no hospital for him to be rushed to in northern Gaza. The nearest one is several miles away in Gaza City. That's because in the past 24 hours, hospitals in northern Gaza have been targeted by Israeli shelling and bombardment, forcing them out of service.
FARES AFANA: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: The head of ambulances in northern Gaza, Fares Afana, says the situation is catastrophic, with no medical services in the area, reminding him of Israel's lengthy siege late last year that left the north in ruins and damaged its hospitals, which have now collapsed. The Israeli military says it's targeting Hamas infrastructure in Jabalia and has killed a Hamas fighter accused of taking part in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza had dozens of patients until Monday, when staff shared this video.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: It shows fire crews putting out a blaze in the hospital's courtyard Monday night. Health officials say Israeli drones bombed the hospital's generators. Staff and patients fled after the bomb strike because Israeli tanks were advancing. Israel's military hasn't responded to NPR's requests for comment on its strikes on hospitals. The attacks on this vital hospital and two smaller ones in northern Gaza this week come as Israel is expanding a new offensive aimed at pushing the population south and forcing Hamas to release hostages. It issued evacuation orders for northern Gaza. Influential Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told reporters the military is moving civilians out of combat zones.
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BEZALEL SMOTRICH: (Non-English language spoken).
BATRAWY: The aim is to move people to southern Gaza and, he says, "with God's help, from there to other countries." That, he says, is the goal. Gaza's emergency workers say an estimated 100,000 people are still in the north. But with no hospitals to treat them, it's unclear how much longer they can remain.
Aya Batrawy, NPR News, Dubai, with reporting by Anas Baba in Gaza City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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