Lynn Hastings, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, expressed “alarm” over the strike “as patients were being evacuated to find safety”.

Al-Shifa Hospital has a bed occupancy rate of 164 per cent according to the WHO, which on Wednesday warned a shortage of fuel for generators “immediately risks the lives” of patients.

Some 16 hospitals across Gaza are no longer functioning because of damage from strikes and the lack of fuel, according to the Gaza health ministry.