GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Entire Palestinian families were wiped out by the Israeli army in northern Gaza, a hospital director said on Monday.

Since Oct. 5, Israel has launched a large-scale ground operation in northern Gaza to allegedly prevent Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

“We are now living a scene where a martyr is bidding farewell to another martyr,” said Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

More than 2,000 Palestinian have been killed and over 6,000 others in the Israeli onslaught, according to local health authorities.

Abu Safiya called for the protection of the hospital, which has repeatedly been hit by Israeli airstrikes. He mentioned that the Israeli military has recently targeted the facility’s emergency department, causing the operations unit to stop due to flying shrapnel and creating panic among patients.

“The targeting of the hospital is a crime against the healthcare system, and the world must stop it immediately, as we are treating the injured and wounded while under constant Israeli bombardment,” Abu Safiya said.

“We appeal to the world to halt the Israeli killing machine and put an immediate end to the targeting of the hospital, which is supposed to have international protection.”

At least 17 people were killed early Monday when an Israeli airstrike flattened a residential building in the northern town of Beit Lahia near the hospital, according to a medical source.

Israel has continued a genocidal war, now in its second year, on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 43,900 people and injuring nearly 104,000 others.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio