Palestinian men and boys hold out their empty pots in front of a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on Aug.21, 2025. (Credit: AFP.)
The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, under Hamas authority, announced Thursday that it had rejected calls from the Israeli army to evacuate hospitals in Gaza City to the south, in anticipation of an imminent Israeli offensive.
In a statement, the ministry "expressed its rejection of any measure that would further weaken what remains of the health system after its systematic destruction" by the Israeli army, in response to "the demand from the occupying authorities [Israel] to transfer health system resources from Gaza governorate to the south" of the territory.
"Such a measure would deprive more than a million people of their right to medical care and would put the lives of residents, patients and the injured at imminent risk," the ministry insisted, calling on "international organizations and U.N. agencies to act to protect what remains of the health system."
Warning of a possible "complete evacuation" of Gaza City, in the north of the Palestinian territory, the army announced Thursday that it had begun urging hospitals and NGOs there to "prepare a plan to transfer medical equipment from north to south."
In these calls, the army assured its interlocutors that it would provide them with "a place to operate, whether a field hospital or any other hospital."
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