The Government Media Office in Gaza has slammed the bombing of the hospital in Gaza City, which is also known as the Baptist Hospital, calling it a “heinous” and “terrible” crime, Al Jazeera reports.

In a statement, the office called the al-Ahli Hospital “one of the oldest and most important health institutions” in Gaza.

“The Baptist Hospital, which includes many specialized departments, had hundreds of patients and wounded, medical staff and escorts at the moment of targeting, and provides health services to more than a million Palestinians in the governorates of Gaza and northern Gaza,” it said.

Israeli forces have already “deliberately destroyed 34 hospitals” in Gaza, the office said, adding that the continued attacks on medical facilities are a “flagrant violation of all international charters and the Geneva Conventions prohibiting the targeting of medical facilities”.