Gaza’s Health Ministry denies Israeli claim of Hamas using ambulances after Tel Aviv airstrike

Gaza’s Health Ministry late Friday denied Israeli claims about Hamas using an ambulance to transport weapons after Tel Aviv targeted an ambulance convoy in the territory with an airstrike that killed 15 victims.

“The (Israeli) occupation attempts to evade responsibility and put the blame on Palestinians as usual,” said spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra, according to Anadolu.

Israeli warplanes struck two ambulances Friday in Gaza City. The army said Hamas members were identified using an ambulance to transport weapons.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has condemned the targeting of a convoy of ambulances in Gaza by Israeli forces on Friday, which it says killed 15 people and wounded more than 60 others.

The PRCS said in a statement early on Saturday that one of its ambulances was struck “by a missile fired by the Israeli forces” about 2 metres from the entrance to the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 15 civilians and wounded 60 other people, the PRCS said, mirroring figures released earlier by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Another ambulance, belonging to the health ministry, was “directly targeted” by a missile about a kilometre from the hospital, causing injuries and damage, it said.

The PRCS, part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, added that deliberately targeting medical teams constituted “a grave violation of the Geneva conventions, a war crime”.

The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on October 7.

Nearly 10,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,240 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.

Basic supplies are running low for Gaza's 2.3 million residents due to the Israeli siege, in addition to the large number of casualties and displacements.