Staff at Gaza's al-Awda Hospital in strong spirits amid 'severe siege', director says

The director of a hospital besieged by Israeli forces in Gaza has said that staff there are in strong spirits.

Ahmed Muhanna, the head of al-Awda Hospital, said the health workers' morale was strong even in the face of the "severe Zionist siege for the 12th consecutive day", Algerian broadcaster AL24 News reported on Saturday.

"We don't know how long the siege will continue, but we are remaining and staying put in the hospital," he said.

The hospital director also discussed the challenges his medical facility was facing.

"We suffer from a stability problem in water, food, oxygen, and medications," he said, explaining that this was especially so because there were 38 patients wavering between being in moderate and serious conditions.

Israel's indiscriminate war on Gaza has targeted hospitals and ambulances and has so far killed almost 18,800 people, most of them women and children.

Israeli forces reportedly bulldozed parts of Kamal Adwan Hospital, burying alive and killing Palestinians there on Saturday.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said it "demands an immediate international investigation into the initial reports that the occupation committed heinous and horrific crimes" in the hospital's courtyard.

The Palestinian Authority's health minister, Mai al-Kaila, also called for an international probe, her ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.

"Minister al-Kaila [said] that the world must take serious action to uncover the details of this case, and not take lightly or remain silent about the information coming from the Gaza Strip," the ministry added.