Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, in Deir al-Balah city, in the central Gaza Strip on December 22, 2024. (Photo by Reuters)

Gaza City, December 24 (RHC)-- The Gaza Ministry of Health says the Israeli military has stepped up its attacks on hospitals in the northern Gaza, calling for "urgent protection" of medical personnel and facilities.

In a statement on Tuesday, the ministry said that Israel has besieged and been “directly” targeting  three major hospitals in the area, namely the Indonesian Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, and al-Awda Hospital over the past hours.

The Israeli army is “forcing the wounded and patients to evacuate the Indonesian Hospital”, it added.  It stressed that the Israeli “bombing is targeting all the departments of the Kamal Adwan Hospital and its surroundings around the clock without stopping.”

“Shrapnel is scattered inside the hospital yard, causing terrifying sounds and serious damage,” the statement added.  “We appeal to all international and UN institutions and concerned parties to urgently intervene to protect the health system in the Gaza Strip,” the ministry pointed out.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 45,338 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured another 107,764 individuals, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

The Israeli military has systematically blocked the entry of lifesaving food, medicine, medical supplies, fuel, and tents into the besieged Palestinian territory since October 2023.

The territory's critical infrastructure such as water networks, sanitation facilities and bread mills has all been razed to the ground.