May 30, Kathmandu- The last functioning hospital in North Gaza, al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia, has been forced to shut down after the Israeli military ordered its immediate evacuation, according to hospital director Dr. Mohammed Salha. Speaking to the BBC, Dr. Salha described the evacuation as the result of a two-week siege and mounting threats from Israeli forces, who warned that if the hospital was not cleared, they would storm it or bomb it, endangering the lives of patients and staff. After hours of intense negotiations and under continued bombardment, the evacuation took place on Thursday evening, with staff carrying patients over 300 meters to ambulances due to destroyed roads. The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that the hospital’s medical equipment could not be moved, and the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that ongoing hostilities had already damaged the hospital and hindered access to care. Patients were transferred to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and Dr. Salha noted efforts to continue providing services through a primary health center in the city and possibly another in a shelter. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the closure of al-Awda leaves North Gaza with no operational hospitals, severing a vital healthcare lifeline, and urged the protection of medical facilities, patients, and staff, reiterating that hospitals must never be attacked or militarized.