The Israeli military has claimed that Hamas is operating in al-Shifa, which the armed group and hospital officials have denied.
Israel has attacked three hospitals in Gaza, including the enclave’s largest medical complex, apparently causing several casualties, according to the Hamas-ruled enclave’s health ministry.
The Israeli military has attacked a courtyard at the al-Shifa hospital complex where thousands of displaced Palestinians are seeking refuge, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said on Friday.
“Israel is now taking these dangerous steps against the hospitals to completely disable them and then evict the people in them, as well as the patients and doctors,” al-Qudra told Al Jazeera.
The Israeli military said Hamas maintains a command center on the hospital’s grounds, including entrances to its extensive network of tunnels, which Hamas and hospital officials have denied.
Israeli officials did not immediately comment on reports of the latest attacks.
Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director general of Al-Shifa Hospital, said the attack hit civilians who were in the courtyard alongside several journalists and injured four, including two critically.
“This resulted in many casualties, including life-threatening injuries. Due to the number of people in this complex, a massacre could have occurred at this location,” Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera.
“Earlier they bombed a building very close to the hospital. And now there are violent clashes and heavy bombings next to the hospital.”
Abu Salmiya said doctors and patients were in fear due to near-constant explosions near the facility.
“Not a second goes by without a bomb attack near the hospital. Many windows of the hospital are broken and there is fear and concern among the doctors, the patients and the displaced,” he said.
“This is a war on hospitals and a war on everyone.” [Palestinian] Citizens.”
Videos showing the apparent aftermath of the attack showed several people screaming and running for cover and an injured man lying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk.
Al-Qudra said that two children’s hospitals, Al-Rantisi and Al-Nasr, were also hit by “direct attacks and bombings” on Friday.
Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said on social media that medical facilities must be protected and that “no area is a free fire zone.”
The attack on al-Shifa is the latest in a series of reported attacks on or near the hospital in Gaza City in recent days.
Last week, the Israeli military bombed an ambulance outside the hospital, killing 15 people, according to Palestinian officials.
On Monday, Al Jazeera and Palestinian media reported that Israeli forces had attacked solar panels powering the medical complex, prompting denials from Israeli officials.
Israeli military officials have released images, illustrated maps and audio recordings that they say show Hamas is using the facility to plan operations and hide its fighters.
“Hamas terrorists operate inside and outside [al-Shifa] hospital and other hospitals in Gaza,” spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said last month.
Hamas, health authorities and officials at Al-Shifa Hospital have denied that the armed group is hiding in or under the complex.
The Israeli military has repeatedly ordered the hospital’s evacuation in recent weeks, drawing condemnation from humanitarian groups who say medical facilities must be spared from fighting.