On October 7, 2023: The Nasser Medical Complex began its work as part of the emergency plans prepared by the Ministry of Health to meet the needs of citizens during the event of an Israeli assault and received thousands of displaced people from nearby and neighboring areas[5]. Occupation forces bombed the hospital and a nearby ambulance, causing severe damage and shattering all the windows of the complex's administration building.
On October 13, 2023: The hospital announced that it had run out of beds and was operating at twice the hospital's capacity[6].
On November 1, 2023: The hospital launched appeals for blood donations due to the arrival of hundreds of wounded and injured people[7].
On November 3, 2023: The hospital announced that it is operating at minimum levels of medical services due to the large shortage of medical supplies and fuel and the increase in the number of wounded and overnight patients[8].
On November 9, 2023: The hospital issued a warning against the use of generators around the clock due to the complete lack of electricity in the Gaza Strip[9].
On November 11, 2023: The hospital re-launched another appeal for blood donations of various types[10].
On November 16, 2023: The hospital announced that it had turned some maternity wards and intensive care units into rooms for the wounded, which negatively affected the capacity to accommodate deliveries, in addition to the severe shortage of medicines for women and pregnant women and maternal and child services, and the impact of the child vaccination system and hygiene inside the hospital[11].
On November 18, 2023: For the third time, the hospital launched an appeal for blood units[12].
On November 20, 2023: The hospital declared that it could not accommodate any new emergencies as it had exceeded its capacity[13].
On November 24, 2023: The hospital received a number of wounded and injured from the Indonesian Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip after occupation forces stormed the hospital's campus and directly targeted parts of it[14].
On November 27, 2023: The hospital received new batches of sick and injured patients from al-Shifa hospital and hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip during the temporary ceasefire. The hospital announced that there were 50 admissions per day and that patients were dying because there are no available beds for them[15].
On November 30, 2023: The hospital established a field hospital to increase the capacity for the wounded and injured after the wards and buildings became full[16].
On December 2, 2023: The hospital launched its fourth appeal for blood donations[17].
On December 4, 2023: The hospital announced that it had performed about 36 surgeries in different specialties every day, and about 1,576 operations since the beginning of the genocide[18].
On December 7, 2023: The hospital announced the use of more than 3,645 units of blood for the injured and sick during the genocide war, in addition to launching about 150 blood donation campaigns during which it had collected 4,000 units of blood[19].
On December 11, 2023: The hospital launched an appeal to evacuate the wounded out of the Gaza Strip[20].
On December 19, 2023: An Israeli artillery shell hit one of the hospital's buildings, severely damaging it[21].
On December 27, 2023: The hospital received an American medical delegation from Mercy Worldwide to treat patients and wounded from the genocidal war[22].
On January 13, 2024: Occupation forces targeted the perimeter of the hospital with heavy artillery shelling[23].
On January 15, 2024: Occupation forces targeted the vicinity of the hospital with an airstrike[24].
On January 16, 2024: Occupation forces targeted the vicinity of the hospital with artillery shelling[25].
On January 17, 2024: Occupation forces heavily bombed the vicinity of the hospital, prompting displaced people and patients to evacuate[24]. The occupation forces withdrew from the vicinity of the hospital, leaving widespread destruction, as well as destroying the Al-Namasawi Cemetery, unearthing some empty graves and missing bodies[25].
On January 19, 2024: Occupation forces continued attacking the vicinity of the hospital, engaging in clashes with the resistance. The sound of artillery shelling was heard from tanks that advanced near the hospital[26][27].
On January 20, 2024: Local media reported that occupation forces fired flares in the vicinity of the hospital[28][29].
On January 21, 2024: Occupation forces intensified the shelling in the vicinity of the hospital and increased the frequency of shooting, while occupation vehicles blocked the road leading to the hospital[30].
On January 22, 2024: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported that more than half of the staff at the hospital had evacuated, leaving only 400 of the 750 patients in the complex[31]. The Ministry of Health announced that about 40 martyrs were buried in the compound's courtyard, citing the difficulty and delay in the arrival of the injured to the compound, in addition to the extreme difficulty in treating dozens of serious cases that exceeded the capacity of the operating rooms and intensive care units[32][33].
On January 23, 2024: Occupation forces continued the siege of Khan Younis city, and clashes raged in the vicinity of the hospital. Occupation forces also issued threats to evacuate areas that included the hospital, as no one was able to enter or leave it. Staff at the hospital continued to bury bodies inside of the complex and medical teams were unable to transfer critical cases from the hospital to the neighboring Jordanian Field Hospital[34][35].
On January 24, 2024: The Palestinian Information Center reported, citing the Ministry of Health, that the occupation forces were besieging the hospital and that it was in need of medical supplies, fuel and food. The Ministry’s Spokesperson Dr. Ashraf Al-Qudra reported that about 400 dialysis patients could not reach the hospital, and hundreds of injured people were unable to receive treatment at the hospital due to the blockage of the nearby roads. UNOCHA also reported that the occupation forces had surrounded and cordoned off the hospital [36][37].
On January 25, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that the complex was operating at 10% of its human capacity under frightening and harsh conditions, in addition to running out of anesthesia medicines in the operating rooms, analgesic medicines, and food, with a quantity of fuel that was not enough for the next five days. Occupation forces reiterated their threats to evacuate the areas in which the hospital is located, as reports indicated that about 18,000 displaced people were sheltering inside of the complex[38][39].
On January 26, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that the occupation was trying to paralyze the capabilities of the Nasser Medical Complex with the continuous siege. A report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) indicated that 300 to 350 patients and wounded in the hospital were unable to evacuate due to the siege and obstructing the movement of ambulances. The report also noted a shortage of medical staff working in the complex and a severe shortage of medical supplies[40][41].
On January 27, 2024: Ministry of Health spokesperson Dr. al-Qudra, announced that the siege was continuing for the sixth day, that many anesthesia and intensive care drugs were out of stock, that there was an acute shortage of blood units in the hospital, that people were forced to bury 150 martyrs in the compound's yard, and that 30 martyrs were still unidentified. Dr. al-Qudra also warned of a lack of fuel, the danger of stopping the work of the generators, indicated that the water tanks were hit by shrapnel and Israeli drone fire, and said that water leaked into the buildings and the intensive care department and that there was a lack of water in the dialysis department[42].
On January 28, 2024: The siege of the Nasser Medical Complex continued for the seventh consecutive day. The Ministry of Health announced that medical and non-medical waste had accumulated everywhere inside the besieged hospital. People inside of the hospital were forced to bury 35 martyrs in mass graves in the yard due to their siege [43][44][45].
On January 29, 2024: A humanitarian mission was able to deliver essential medical supplies to 1,000 patients at the hospital[46].
On January 30, 2024: Occupation forces tightened the siege on the hospital, putting 150 medical staff, 450 wounded and 3,000 displaced people in the line of fire. Occupation forces also targeted the perimeter of the compound, resulting in a number of injuries[46][47].
On January 31, 2024: Many of the wounded inside the compound were martyred as the Israeli siege continued and food ran out[48][49].
On February 1, 2024: The occupation forces besieged more than 30,000 people in shelters around the Nasser Medical Complex, with no food, water or medicine inside the complex[50].
On February 2, 2024: Occupation forces targeted the vicinity of the hospital with aerial bombardment, and clashes continued near the complex[51][52].
On February 5, 2024: Occupation forces continued targeting and shelling the vicinity of the hospital[53].
On February 6, 2024: The occupation forces tightened the siege of the compound, and targeted its surroundings directly and concentratedly, directly endangering the lives of medical staff and IDPs. The complex suffers from a severe shortage of medical supplies: Anesthesia, surgical and other medicines [54].
On February 7, 2024: A woman who was trying to fetch water from the medical complex was reportedly shot and killed [55].
February 8, 2024: The tightened siege on the complex continued, and electricity is cut off in parts of the hospital due to the lack of fuel and the Ministry of Health warned of a health crisis due to the accumulation of medical and non-medical waste inside the hospital for days on end, in addition to targeting of water tanks, which could not be repaired in light of the siege. There were also reports that the injured were prevented from reaching the hospital, that a nurse was shot while she was working inside the operating room, that there were snipers in the vicinity, and that people were shot and killed outside of the hospital[55][56].
On February 9, 2024: There were reports of continued sniper fire by the occupation forces in the vicinity of the hospital. A humanitarian mission was able to deliver fuel to the compound in its eighth attempt. Occupation forces continued to carry out raids in the vicinity of the compound, and continued to fire at people outside[57][58][59].
On February 10, 2024: Occupation forces opened heavy fire in the direction of the gates, buildings and yards of the compound, killing a person and wounding several others. The heavy fire also made movement between buildings in the complex difficult for staff. Occupation yanks and vehicles were stationed in front of the entrance to the compound and reports indicated that the occupation forces shot and killed four displaced people in the compound yard[60][61][62].
On February 11, 2024: Occupation forces targeted a young man in the yard of the hospital, as occupation snipers climbed onto houses in its vicinity, firing at its courtyards and preventing medical teams from reaching the wounded in its front. The occupation forces also shelled the emergency doctors' room in the complex[63][64][65][66].
On February 12, 2024: Sewage flooded the emergency department and extended to the radiology department, hindering the work of the medical staff. The Ministry of Health demanded protection for the technical staff so that they could move around the compound to repair the sewage network. Seven civilians were martyred by occupation fire and 14 medical staff were injured inside the compound's courtyards and buildings. Suspended ceilings in the dormitories and operations departments fell as a result of the explosions surrounding the compound, while the staff, patients, and displaced persons ran out of food [67][68].
On February 13, 2024: Occupation forces demolished the northern wall of the Nasser Hospital compound, and notified the hospital administration to evacuate displaced persons, patients, and medical staff. The occupation forces also opened fire at anyone trying to leave and evacuate at the hospital's gate and targeted schools in the surrounding area, leading to a fire that spread to the medical equipment warehouse and burned it completely, as well as the medical supplies warehouse which was burned by 80%. The hospital’s administration was unable to transfer the martyrs to the mortuary due to the extreme danger of Israeli fire and the ongoing siege. Additionally, occupation forces targeted citizens inside the complex with sniper weapons, which resulted in the martyrdom of three people and the injury of 10 others, and the electricity generators in the complex stopped, which led to the martyrdom of a child[69][70][71].
On February 14, 2024: Occupation forces forced thousands of displaced people and patients to leave the hospital at gunpoint and under heavy fire. About 190 staff members and 299 of their family members remained inside the compound, in addition to 273 immobile patients and 327 of their companions. Occupation forces also shelled the third floor of the hospital, injuring a doctor and shelled the orthopedic department, resulting in the martyrdom of a patient and several injuries. Additionally, the occupation forces prevented two missions from arriving, and the WHO lost contact with the staff at the hospital. Occupying forces also sent a handcuffed Palestinian detainee to deliver the occupying forces' threat to evacuate the compound, after which he was shot and martyred[72][73][74][75][76].
On February 15, 2024: Occupation forces stormed the courtyard of the hospital after demolishing the southern wall, turning it into a military barracks, bulldozed its yards, fired at its medical departments, used dogs to terrorize displaced people and patients, and arrested a number of medical staff and displaced who fled the complex. The occupation forces also targeted the ambulance headquarters and the tents of the displaced and bulldozed the mass graves in the medical complex. The Ministry of Health reported that the occupation forces ordered the hospital's management to move all patients to the old Nasser building inside the compound, as the hospital was facing shortages of food, water and baby milk, and forced medical staff to leave the patients. Israeli shelling caused damage to oxygen pumping pipes, destroyed two ambulances, and broke into the maternity building. MSF reported that its crews were forced to evacuate the compound, and that occupation forces bombed the orthopedic department, injuring and martyring several patients[76][77][78][79][80] [81].
On February 16, 2024: Occupation forces stormed the administration building of the Nasser compound and forced displaced people and patients to move from the old Nasser building to the maternity building, which they turned into a military barracks. Four patients trapped inside the compound were martyred after oxygen was cut off from them. Occupation forces also dug holes in front of and behind a WHO aid convoy, prevented it from reaching the hospital[82][83][84][85].
On February 17, 2024: Occupation forces arrested a large number of medical staff inside the hospital [85]. An UNRWA mission managed to deliver 24,000 liters of fuel to the hospital [86].
On February 18, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that the occupation forces left only 25 medical staff in the compound, arrested 70 health staff and dozens of patients in their beds and took them to unknown locations. The ministry also announced that sewage water flooded the emergency departments of the hospital, and that the water was cut off and the generators stopped working. A joint medical mission between the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the UN was able to reach the hospital and evacuate 14 patients [87][88][89].
On February 19, 2024: The WHO completed the evacuation of 32 patients from the hospital[90].
On February 20, 2024: The PRCS evacuated 21 patients from the Nasser Hospital to two field hospitals in Rafah[91].
On February 21, 2024: The Ministry of Health stated that eight patients were martyred due to the lack of electricity and oxygen for four days, that the occupation forces prevented the staff and families from removing the bodies of the martyrs for burial, and that their bodies began to decompose on the beds among the living and displaced patients[91].
On February 22, 2024: Occupation forces withdrew from the interior of the hospital, while remaining stationed in the surrounding areas. Later in the day the forces re-entered the complex with four troop carriers [92][93][94].
On February 23, 2024: PRCS crews carried out a fourth mission to evacuate injured and sick people from the hospital. Between February 18 and 23, PRCS crews, in collaboration with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and the WHO, completed the evacuation of 72 critical cases from the hospital. The Ministry of Health reported that the occupying forces released medical staff who had been arrested and returned to work at the compound[95][96][97].
On February 24, 2024: Occupation forces continued the besiege of the hospital compound[98].
On February 25, 2024: Occupation forces announced the end of the military operation at the Nasser Hospital. It was reported that the bodies of about five martyrs were recovered near the compound[99][100].
February 27, 2024: The Ministry of Health stated that about 120 sick and wounded patients need to be evacuated to other hospitals for treatment, and that the occupation forces were still detaining 70 health workers whom they abducted from Nasser Hospital[96].
On February 28, 2024: Occupation forces targeted the hospital with artillery, leading to a fire breaking out at the outpatient department [101].
On March 24, 2024: Occupation vehicles again made an incursion into the vicinity of hospital, as heavy shelling continued [102].
On March 25, 2024: Occupation forces arrested a number of displaced people inside the hospital and forced women to evacuate to the Mawasi area. UNOCHA reported that intensive shelling and ground operations continue in the vicinity of the compound[103][104].
On March 26, 2024: The perimeter of the hospital continued to be surrounded by tanks[105].
On March 27, 2024: Occupation forces stormed Nasser Hospital again, arresting a number of health workers and displaced people. The occupation forces also targeted the vicinity of the hospital with airstrikes, and fired at displaced youths after ordering them to evacuate the compound[106][107].
On March 30, 2024: Occupation vehicles continued besieging and firing the hospital[108].
On April 3, 2024: Occupation forces bombed the vicinity of the hospital, martyring a person and injuring others[109].
On April 10, 2024: A joint UN inter-agency assessment mission arrived at the hospital and reported its destruction, including the warehouse, which used to supply hospitals in the southern governorates with medicines. The report concluded that the hospital was out of service[110][111].
On April 20, 2024: Palestinian Civil Defense crews recovered the bodies of 50 martyrs from different genders and age groups, who were buried in mass graves inside of the compound [112].
On April 22, 2024: The Gaza Media Office announced that bodies were found stripped and handcuffed, and that the compound had housed 2,000 people before the raid on February 14, whose current whereabouts remained unknown[113].
On April 24, 2024: The Palestinian Civil Defense announced the recovery of 51 bodies from the hospital, most of them unidentified, including the bodies of children, women, the elderly, and the sick[114].
On April 25, 2024: After searching for mass graves for seven days, the Palestinian Civil Defense held a press conference announcing the discovery of new mass graves dug by the occupation forces. It also documented the excavation of mass graves that residents were forced to dig inside of the hospital compound before it was stormed during the siege. At the conference, it was announced that 392 bodies had been recovered, 165 of which were identified, and the remaining 227 bodies could not be identified because they had been mutilated by the occupation soldiers. Another 110 bodies were recovered outside the walls of the hospital. The Palestinian Civil Defense presented evidence documenting the opening of the mass graves, where Civil Defense crews found bodies buried in blue and black bags at a depth of three meters, contrary to the way martyrs are buried in Palestine. Evidence of the execution and burial of children was also shown, including the body of a child with her hands and legs amputated, and the bodies of patients in surgical clothes. There were also bodies that had undergone surgery and the wounds had been resealed with a stapler, indicating possible organ theft, as well as direct signs of torture on handcuffed bodies. The Civil Defense called on UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres to open an international investigation into mass grave crimes and field executions[115][116].
On April 26, 2024: Health and civil defense crews completed the recovery of the bodies of the martyrs from a mass grave established by the occupation army in the vicinity of the hospital [115].
On May 3, 2024: The WHO reported that it was cooperating with the staff of the Nasser hospital on the first phase of the rehabilitation of the compound. The emergency department, nine operating rooms, the intensive care unit, the maternity ward, the neonatal intensive care unit, and the outpatient department were reopened[117].
On May 8, 2024: The Gaza Media Office announced the discovery of three mass graves in the hospital. MSF also announced that it would move its team to Nasser Medical Complex in order to continue supporting maternity services[118][119].
On May 13, 2024: The hospital’s administration announced via Facebook the gradual resumption of work in some departments[120].
On May 26, 2024: Nasser Medical Complex director Dr. Atef al-Hout warned that the complex's generators would run out of fuel and stop working[121].
On May 27, 2024: The hospital’s administration announced the resumption of work in the general pediatric clinic, the neurology clinic, the gastroenterology clinic, the nutrition clinic, and the chest clinic[122].
On June 23, 2024: Four children with cancer and one child with second-degree burns were transferred from Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital to the Nasser Medical Complex through the WHO in preparation for their transfer for treatment abroad[123][124].
On July 2, 2024: The hospital received most of the patients evacuated from the European Gaza Hospital, and a report by the UNOCHA noted that the Nasser Hospital was overcrowded and short of medical supplies[125].
On July 3, 2024: Occupation forces bombed a building near the hospital[125].
On July 4, 2024: The Ministry of Health announced that work had stopped in some departments of the hospital and that fuel would run out in a few hours. The hospital also received medical equipment and devices transferred from the European Gaza Hospital with assistance from the WHO and UNOCHA[125][126].
On July 5, 2024: MSF reported that all departments in the hospital were overwhelmed with patients, far exceeding their capacity[127].
On July 14, 2024: Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator and Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza Scott Anderson described the poor conditions and overcrowding at the hospital[128].
On July 22, 2024: The Ministry of Health appealed to citizens to donate blood due to an acute shortage of blood units[129].
On July 23, 2024: Local media outlets broadcasted video reports showing large numbers of people displaced from the eastern regions to the city of Khan Yunis lying on the ground outside the hospital[130].
On August 5, 2024: Local media reported that quadcopters were present in the vicinity of the hospital[131].
On August 8, 2024: Rahma Worldwide donated seven ambulances to the Nasser Medical Complex, and the ambulances entered Gaza in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent[132].
