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An Israeli military raid on a hospital in Gaza has put the last major health facility in the besieged strip’s north out of service, exacerbating a deepening humanitarian crisis in the enclave, according to the UN’s health agency.

The attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital came as Israel stepped up an offensive in northern Gaza that began in October and has killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee.

The Israeli military said it is fighting to prevent Hamas regrouping in Gaza’s north, where most of the population have been forced to flee during Israel’s 14-month offensive against the Palestinian militant group.

The World Health Organisation said initial reports indicated that key departments of the medical facility were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid on Friday.

It said that 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition, including those on ventilators, remained at the hospital, while others were forced to evacuate to another damaged hospital.

“The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of healthcare,” WHO said in a statement late on Friday. “This horror must end and healthcare must be protected.”

The Palestinian health ministry said Kamal Adwan’s operating and surgical departments, laboratory, maintenance, ambulance units and warehouses had “been completely burnt”.

“The occupation army is forcibly transferring the sick and injured, at gunpoint . . . to the Indonesian hospital, which lacks medical supplies, water, medicines and even electricity and generators,” it said in a statement. “There are patients who are threatened with death at any moment as a result of the harsh conditions.”

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had concluded a two-day operation at the hospital after the facility had been turned into a “major terror stronghold” by Hamas.

Some 240 suspected militants were arrested at the hospital, some of whom were posing as patients, including the hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya, who was currently “being questioned in Gaza”, spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said.

The Israeli military strenuously denied its forces were responsible for starting a “small fire in an empty building” at the facility the day before, which Shoshani said had caused minimal damage.

Hamas denied that its fighters were using the hospital for military activities.

UN agencies and humanitarian groups have repeatedly condemned Israel for attacking medical facilities in Gaza since it launched its offensive against Hamas after the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack killed 1,200 people.

The WHO said it had verified 516 attacks on health facilities and medical transport in Gaza, adding that more than 90 per cent of the strip’s medical facilities were either damaged or destroyed.

The Israeli offensive in northern Gaza has continued as mediators push for a deal to end the war and to secure the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held in the strip before US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House next month.

The operation has reduced Jabalia, which before the war was the largest refugee camp in Gaza and home to more than 100,000 people, to rubble, and expanded to neighbouring Beit Lahia where the Kamal Adwan Hospital is located.

On Saturday, the Israeli military said its forces had begun operations in the Beit Hanoun district.

Over the course of the day, two long-range rockets were fired from the area towards Jerusalem, according to Israeli authorities — the first such barrage from Gaza in months. The projectiles were intercepted by Israeli air defences. 

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 45,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials, and forced the vast majority of the strip’s 2.3mn people from their homes.

Multiple tornadoes struck the Houston area on Saturday, killing one person in Brazoria County and injuring four others according to local reports.

Why It Matters

The severe weather strikes during one of the busiest travel weekends of the year, disrupting thousands of flights across Texas’ major airports.

John Lichter, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS), said at least six tornadoes hit the area, although they may discover there were more when authorities are able to survey the damage caused by straight-line winds.

The region had already experienced tornado activity on Thursday, with two tornadoes recorded near El Campo in Wharton County and in the Crosby area of Harris County. The timing is particularly concerning as tornadoes can be especially dangerous in Gulf Coast states during winter months.

What To Know

Governor Greg Abbott has activated the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) in response to the severe weather threat across the eastern half of Texas. In Brazoria County, approximately 10 homes were damaged between Liverpool and Hillcrest Village, with additional destruction reported in Katy and Porter Heights, where mobile homes were damaged, and a fire station’s doors were blown in.

The storms have knocked out power to more than 45,000 customers in Texas and 21,000 in Louisiana. In Franklin County, Mississippi, more than 30 percent of utility customers are without power, and reports indicate at least one person was trapped in a home in Bude when a tree fell during a tornado.

Travel disruptions have intensified across Texas’s major airports. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reports disruptions to one thousand and eighty-seven flights, while Houston Bush Intercontinental faces six hundred and four affected flights.

Dallas Love Field has experienced disruptions to two hundred and twenty-two flights as the severe weather impacts holiday travel.

Resources for Residents:

• Monitor road conditions: DriveTexas.org
• Access flood information: TexasFlood.org
• Emergency preparedness guidance: tdem.texas.gov/prepare
• General safety tips: TexasReady.gov

What People Are Saying

Governor Abbott: “Texas is prepared to deploy all necessary resources to help local officials respond to severe weather threats.”

Dan Davis, Manvel Mayor: “I’ve received confirmation that tragically, one life was lost due to the storm coming through Brazoria County.”

Josh Lichter at NWS: “These storms are probably going to get a lot worse this evening and overnight the further east you go.”

What Happens Next

TDEM has activated swiftwater rescue boat squads and placed urban search and rescue teams on standby. The severe weather threat is expected to expand eastward, potentially affecting a dozen states through Sunday.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan for what he described as a “tragic incident” involving an Azerbaijani aircraft in Russian airspace on Christmas Day.

Moscow phoned Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev and the Russian president expressed “deep and sincere condolences” to the families of those affected, the Kremlin’s press office said on Saturday. 

The Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 plane was flying from Baku to Grozny on Christmas Day when it diverted across the Caspian Sea and crash-landed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

Senior US and Ukrainian officials blamed Russian anti-aircraft fire for the crash.

Although the Kremlin’s statement on Saturday did not explicitly confirm that Russian air defence systems were responsible, it did not deny the allegation. 

The aircraft “repeatedly attempted to land at Grozny airport” while Ukrainian combat drones were attacking nearby cities and Russian air defences were “responding to these attacks”, according to the Kremlin.

“Vladimir Putin apologised for the tragic incident that occurred in Russian airspace”, the statement said.

A Russian investigative committee has opened a criminal investigation into alleged violations of aviation safety regulations, with “civilian and military specialists being questioned”, the statement added. 

Azerbaijani, Kazakh and Russian officials are already conducting an official investigation, led by Baku.

Putin’s carefully worded acknowledgment sharply contrasts with Moscow’s repeated denial of responsibility for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which investigators attributed to a surface-to-air missile fired from territory held by Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. A court in the Netherlands has found three men with links to the Russian military guilty of murder for their roles in the incident.

Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center, a Yerevan-based think-tank, said the Kremlin’s statement “was both unexpected and out of character” for Putin.

He said the move “reveals the overall weakness of Russia’s position” as Moscow pursues its war in Ukraine. Putin clearly “values his relationship with Turkey, Azerbaijan’s patron state, over all else”, he added.

Andrey Kolesnikov, a Moscow-based political scientist, said that as a result of the plane crash, “Azerbaijani society has overnight become anti-Russian”.

Russia’s main aviation authority had initially suggested that the Kazakhstan crash was caused by a bird strike to the plane’s engine. Azerbaijan’s president said he had been told the plane had been diverted due to poor weather conditions.

On Friday John Kirby, the US National Security Council spokesperson, said there were “early indications” that the plane had been hit by Russian air defences. Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s transport minister, said on the same day that the crash had been caused by a weapon impact.

Survivors, including passengers and crew, have described explosions outside the plane as it flew over Grozny.

On Thursday, the head of Russia’s main aviation authority Dmitry Yadrov admitted that air conditions around Grozny had been “very difficult” due to attacks from Ukrainian combat drones.

In response to the catastrophe, five airlines have suspended some flights to Russia.

Turkmenistan Airlines suspended its route from Ashgabat to Moscow while Azerbaijan Airlines, Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air and the UAE’s Flydubai all suspended routes to southern Russia. Israel’s El Al has suspended its Tel Aviv to Moscow route.

Additional reporting by Robert Wright in London