On Sunday, November 3, 2024, children were injured during an alleged Israeli airstrike and/or artillery shelling at the inpatient floor of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia in North Gaza.

No further details were available regarding the injured children and other civilians, whose identities are currently undetermined.

The incident was widely reported by local media and journalists following a distress call from Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. According to reports, the hospital was facing a difficult and highly dangerous situation after its facilities were struck by the bombardment. Several children reportedly sustained serious injuries as a result. Facebook user Ajel quoted the director as stating that there was not a single ambulance remaining in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Journalist Anas al-Sharif, who published a video of his phone call with Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, further reported that the World Health Organization’s delegation had withdrawn from the hospital.

Al Araby TV, Al Araby Akhbar and Arab Voice News Agency included a photograph of what appears to be the struck multi-storey building of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. The hospital façade is partially destroyed, and scaffolding can be seen on one side. Smoke rises in the background, suggesting a recent strike or fire. Debris and rubble cover the ground in front of the buildings, and a few people are visible walking through the area.

Al Hadath Palestine, Alarabiya Palestine and An-Najah Nbc included pictures of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital. The first image shows him speaking while seated indoors, wearing his hospital attire, a dark blue shirt, and with short dark grey hair. Another, similar photograph was taken outdoors in a different location, showing him in the same hospital uniform, carrying a stethoscope around his neck.

All sources located the incident at the Kamal Adwan Hospital’s inpatient floor in Beit Lahia in North Gaza following the hospital director’s distress call. However, several sources further added that the nursery, water tanks, and hospital courtyard were also affected.

While most sources described the incident as a shelling, many also referred to it as bombing. Moreover, when specifying the type of strike that affected the nursery, the water tanks, and the hospital courtyard, all available sources characterised the event as artillery shelling.

Where sources identified the belligerent, all attributed the airstrike to the Israeli military.