UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has condemned the strike on Al Ahli Anglican Episcopal Hospital in Gaza, with preliminary reports of hundreds killed and many others wounded, including women and children.

He also condemned the attack on a UN Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) school in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza, which killed at least six people.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Dujarric said the secretary general extended his sincere condolences to the victims’ families and wished a swift recovery to those injured.

He emphasised that hospitals, clinics, medical personnel, and UN premises were explicitly protected under international law.

Similarly, the World Health Organisation condemned the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital.

“The hospital was operational, with patients, health and caregivers, and internally displaced people sheltering there. Early reports indicate hundreds of fatalities and injuries,” it said.

According to the UN health agency, the hospital is one of 20 health facilities north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.

It said the order for evacuation had been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity and critical condition of many patients.

WHO said other problems were a lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for displaced people.

The agency, however, called for the immediate active protection of civilians and health care.

(NAN)