Israeli forces destroy Gaza’s only cancer hospital amid intensified offensive
Jerusalem: Israeli forces pushed deeper into the Gaza Strip on Friday, destroying the only specialised cancer hospital in the region. The escalation follows Israel’s commitment to expanding its control until Hamas releases the remaining hostages.
The hospital, located in the Netzarim Corridor, an area that divided Gaza in two and remained under Israeli control for most of the 17-month-long conflict, was targeted after Israel resumed operations in the corridor earlier this week, breaking a ceasefire that had been in place since late January. The ceasefire had allowed the release of over two dozen hostages.
The Israeli military stated that the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital had been inaccessible to doctors and patients due to Hamas militants allegedly operating from the site. However, Türkiye, which helped establish and fund the hospital, accused Israel of using it as a military base at one point, according to an AP report.
Dr Zaki Al-Zaqzouq, head of the hospital’s oncology department, revealed that a medical team had visited the facility during the ceasefire and found it damaged but partially intact. Following the attack, the Medical Aid for Palestinians group condemned the bombing, calling it an attack on a crucial healthcare facility.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry denounced the destruction of the hospital, accusing Israel of deliberately making Gaza uninhabitable and forcibly displacing Palestinians.
Under international law, hospitals can lose their protected status if used for military purposes, but any attack must be proportionate. Human rights organisations and UN-backed experts have repeatedly criticised Israel for systematically targeting Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
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Low visibility prevents PM’s helicopter from landing in Taherpur, Modi returns to Kolkata airport
Kolkata (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter failed to land at the Taherpur helipad in West Bengal owing to low visibility on account of dense fog in the area on Saturday, an official said.
The PM’s chopper made a U-turn after hovering over the helipad ground for a while and returned to the Kolkata airport, he said.
Till reports last received, the Prime Minister was waiting at the airport for further updates on the weather situation.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Modi would reach the rally venue district by road or whether he would wait for the weather to clear up and make another attempt to reach Taherpur by the aerial route, the official said.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister reached Kolkata at around 10.40 am and took a chopper onward to Taherpur in Nadia district, where he is scheduled to hold an administrative programme to launch highway projects in West Bengal, followed by a political rally of the BJP, titled Parivartan Sankalpa Sabha, which he is supposed to address.
