At least five patients inside the largest functioning hospital in southern Gaza died after the power went out during an Israeli raid on the facility and left them without oxygen, Gaza health officials said Friday.
Troops stormed Nasser Hospital on Thursday after a dayslong siege of the facility in which patients, doctors and humanitarian aid groups described an increasingly dire situation, with dwindling supplies, including food and water as well as reports of snipers shooting civilians trying to leave the area.
The Israeli military says Hamas has used the hospital for military purposes, including to hide some of the 250 hostages who were taken captive on Oct. 7. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israel's chief military spokesperson, said the military has intelligence indicating there may be bodies of hostages in the Nasser hospital facility.