Gaza, Oct 29 (IANS): The Israeli military has stepped up attacks close to Al Quds hospital in Gaza City, after ordering its “immediate” evacuation, media reports said.

The director of the hospital said there is no reason for Israel to target the facility or the areas nearby.

“There’s no police presence in the hospital, no military presence, nothing at all. Just thousands of Palestinians here many of whom have lost their homes. Thousands of others are seeking shelter in UNRWA schools. Israel is targeting every single building around Al Quds Hospital,” he said according to the Al Jazeera report.

In a video statement shared to X, the Palestinian Red Crescent says it does not have the means to evacuate al-Quds hospital in Gaza, The Guardian reported.

“We have over 400 patients who are inside the hospital, many of them are in the intensive care unit. Evacuating them means killing them. That’s why we refuse the evacuation order,” a representative of the group said.

“We call on the international community to intervene immediately to stop a humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding.”

In another video, the Palestinian Red Crescent said there are 14,000 displaced civilians, the majority of whom are children and women, now residing inside the hospital.

There are reports of clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, close to Erez, media reported.