The Palestinian Ministry of Health accused Israeli forces of the “targeting and killing of medical and ambulance personnel during their humanitarian missions to evacuate the victims of aggression.”
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment. The IDF told CNN it will look into these allegations.
At least 15 health facilities were damaged and 23 ambulances were destroyed in airstrikes Friday, according to the Palestinian ministry.
A dramatic video posted on the ministry in Gaza’s Facebook page captured the moment an ambulance was rocked by an explosion as it attempted to flee a chaotic scene.
In the video, explosions are heard going off when the person recording jumps into an ambulance. Several people can be seen inside the ambulance, including a woman on a stretcher and a young girl by her side.
An explosion rocks the ambulance carrying the child and woman. The young girl screams in panic as another explosion goes off.
It is not clear what happened to the woman and child. The exact source and cause of the explosion was unclear.
“The Israeli violations against medical personnel, health institutions, and ambulance units are a blatant attack on the laws, conventions, and international norms that stipulate the protection of medical personnel and their facilities during times of conflicts and wars,” the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Friday in a statement.
The ministry also said that “thousands of displaced citizens are sleeping in hospital courtyards, facing the immense number of wounded individuals who are congesting the hospital corridors, putting immense pressure on the fragile healthcare system.”
The ministry went on to call for “immediate action to open a secure passage to ensure the arrival of medical supplies, fuel, delegations, ambulance vehicles, and allow the departure of hundreds of wounded and patients before it is too late.”
The ministry also accused Israeli forces of targeting people in Gaza as they were trying to evacuate their homes.
“The Israeli occupation deceived the citizens and forced them into forced displacement, then multiplied its crimes by targeting them this afternoon,” the health ministry said.
“The world witnessed that all the victims of this targeting are entire families, including unborn children. Three ambulances were targeted, and 10 of their crews were injured during the evacuation of the wounded.”
