The Israeli military ordered dozens of patients out of one of the last remaining hospitals in northern Gaza as it launched a raid against Hamas terrorists on Friday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had helped to evacuate civilians, patients and medical staff before the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in the city of Beit Lahia on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip

The military claimed in a statement that the hospital had become “a key stronghold for terrorist organisations and continues to be used as a hideout for terrorist operatives” since Israeli forces began broader operations in northern Gaza in October.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said that the Israeli military had moved sick and wounded people to a nearby hospital which it said lacked electricity and medical supplies.

“There are sick people at risk of dying at any moment as a result of the harsh conditions,” the ministry said in a statement.