An AFP photographer later said hundreds of people had started walking out of Al-Shifa Hospital. Meanwhile, Gaza health authorities said 450 patients were trapped at the facility.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip and has become the focus of the war now in its seventh week between Israel and Hamas. Israel accuses Hamas of operating an underground base beneath the hospital, a charge Hamas denies.
Israeli forces around Al-Shifa Hospital on November 15.
The United Nations estimates that 2,300 Palestinian patients, staff and displaced civilians were sheltering at Al-Shifa before Israeli troops entered on November 15. Gaza health authorities said dozens of people had died at the hospital after power outages caused by fuel shortages amid intense fighting.
Israel has repeatedly urged hospital residents to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip as the Israeli military expands its offensive in the northern part of the territory, including Gaza City. However, medical experts say moving patients is impossible at this time.
Israel vows to attack 'wherever Hamas is, including southern Gaza'
Hospital director Mohammed Abu Salmiya told AFP that the Israeli army had instructed him to ensure "the evacuation of patients, injured, displaced people and medical staff, that they should walk towards the coast".
Even the southern Gaza Strip has never been safe and there are now signs that Israel is planning to attack Hamas in the south. Israel has issued a new warning to civilians in the southern city of Khan Younis, telling them to move away from the bombardment zone and closer to humanitarian aid. Hundreds of thousands of people have already fled from Gaza City to Khan Younis.
The director of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis said on November 18 that at least 26 people were killed when a residential building in the area was attacked. Israel did not immediately comment on this information.
Also on November 18, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said his country would do "whatever is necessary to prevent" the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. "Not only is it a war crime, it is a direct threat to our national security... We will never allow it to happen," Safadi said at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain, according to Reuters.
Israel allows fuel into Gaza after US request
He also said Jordan did not understand how Israel could achieve its goal of destroying Hamas. "Israel claims it wants to destroy Hamas. There are a lot of fighters here, I just don't understand how they can achieve this goal," he said.
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