Israeli airstrike on Gaza Hospital kills four and leaves dozens 'severely burnt'

Anairstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Strip killed at least four people after triggering a fire that swept through a camp for displaced people.

Yesterday’s early morning attack left more than two dozen with severe burns, according to Palestinian medics. The military said it had been targeting militants hiding out among civilians, but it did not provide evidence. In recent months it has repeatedly struck crowded shelters and tent camps, claiming that fighters were using them as staging grounds for attacks.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah was already struggling to treat a large number of people wounded from a strike on a school-turned-shelter, that killed at least 20, when it was hit by a missile.

Fire engulfed many of the tents and secondary explosions could be heard after the initial strike, but it was not clear if they were caused by weapons or fuel tanks.Children were among the wounded.

A man sobbed as he carried a toddler with a bandaged head in his arms. Another small child with a bandaged leg was given a blood transfusion on the floor of the packed hospital. Hospital records showed 40 people were wounded in the encampment strike. Twenty-five people were transferred to the Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza after suffering severe burns.