Palestinians flee as Israel orders evacuation of besieged Nasser Hospital

Witnesses say Israel fired on the largest health facility in southern Gaza, which has been under siege for weeks.

Dozens of Palestinians have been seen leaving the besieged Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis after Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the complex, but medical aid workers say patients in critical condition remain inside.

Video footage shared with Al Jazeera showed dozens of displaced people, who had been sheltering inside the hospital, leaving on Wednesday. A doctor wearing green hospital scrubs walked ahead of the crowd, and some carried white flags.

Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the complex on Tuesday. In a post shared on the social media platform X on Wednesday, the army said, “Hamas continues to conduct military activities” in the hospital, an unsubstantiated claim Israel has made about other Gaza health facilities it has raided during its months-long war.

The Israeli military – which used drones and loudspeakers to tell people to leave Nasser Hospital – said it opened “a secure route” to allow civilians to exit, while medics and patients could remain inside.

However, witnesses and medical NGO Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) said those sheltering inside were afraid to leave after reports people were shot on the way out. The Israeli army also fired on people inside the hospital, including a doctor and a nurse.