Middle East updates: Raid puts Gaza hospital out of service

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have his prostate removed in a surgery scheduled for Sunday.

His office made the announcement on Saturday, saying he has been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection after undergoing a test at Hadassah Hospital on Wednesday. The infection was due to "a benign prostate enlargement."

"As a result, the prime minister will undergo prostate removal surgery tomorrow," his office said.

Netanyahu underwent a hernia surgery in March. In July last year, the 75-year-old had a pacemaker installed following a medical scare.

Israel's military has confirmed it was holding the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Dr. Hossam Abu Safiyeh had been detained and is currently being held for questioning under suspicion of "being a Hamas operative."

In its statement, the IDF claimed that a "Hamas command center" was located at the hospital. It said it had detained over 240 militants belonging to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others during the raid.

Earlier, Gaza health officials and the World Health Organization said the raid had forced the hospital out of service. In its statement, WHO said Israel was carrying out "systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza."

World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he had a narrow brush with death during Israeli strikes on the international airport in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen.

"We heard a heavy explosion nearby, and then I think repeated," Tedros told BBC radio.

"The sound was so, so loud... so deafening, actually. Still my ear rings. It's already more than 24 hours now. I don't know if it affected my ear. The explosion was so heavy.

"It was the departure lounge next to us that was hit, and later on the control tower," Tedros said.

"It's a matter of luck. Otherwise, if the missile deviated just slightly, it could have been on our heads... my colleague actually said after all that, we escaped death narrowly."

Israel struck several sites in Yemen on Thursday, including the international airport in Sanaa and the adjacent al-Dailami Air Base.

Houthi Deputy Transport Minister Yahya al-Sayani said four people were killed and 20 wounded in the strikes.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a tunnel belonging to Hezbollah has been discovered and destroyed in southern Lebanon.

The IDF said a 100-meter (circa 330 feet) underground route was used by Hezbollah’s Radwan unit linking to a command center belonging to the militant group.

Israeli forces said they found explosive devices, rocket launchers, rifles, rockets and unspecified surveillance equipment.

There has been a fragile ceasefire in place between Israel and Hezbollah for the last month, although both sides have accused one another of violating it.

Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including the US and Germany. The EU classifies its armed wing as a terrorist group.

The foreign ministers of China and Iran said that the Middle East should not be a battleground for the world's superpowers.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and China’s Wang Yi agreed that "the international community should respect the sovereignty, security, stability, unity and territorial integrity of Middle East countries," according to a readout from Beijing's foreign ministry.

Calls for a ceasefire in Gaza were reiterated along with the proper implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon. The foreign ministers also called for the "integrated promotion of counter-terrorism, reconciliation and humanitarian processes in Syria", according to the readout.

"The two sides agreed that the Middle East belongs to the people of the Middle East, and is not a battleground for the big powers, and should not be a victim of geopolitical competition and conflicts between countries from outside the region," the ministry said.

Both China and Iran had supported ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, fervently opposes Iran's influence In Syria.

The Israeli military said its air defenses had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen early on Saturday.

There were warning sirens in dozens of cities in Israel, including Jerusalem.

Houthi-affiliated channel Al Masirah TV reported that a US-British "aggression" had targeted a park in the Ma'een district west of Sanaa. There was no confirmation from the US or Britain. 

On Thursday, Israel struck several sites in Yemen including the international airport.

The Israeli military said it was targeting infrastructure used by Houthi militants in Yemen for military purposes.

The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed solidarity with Palestinians since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023 and have fired a series of missiles and drones at Israel. The war was triggered by Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people in Israel.  

The Houthis have also launched attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea which has resulted in US and sometimes UK strikes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday said that the last major health facility in north Gaza, the Kamal Adwan Hospital, was out of service following a raid by Israeli forces.

"Initial reports indicate that some key departments were severely burnt and destroyed during the raid," the WHO said in a statement, adding that 60 health workers and 25 patients in critical condition reportedly remain in the hospital.

The WHO said there had been repeated attacks on or near the hospital since early October and that the raids were undoing efforts to keep the facility functional at a minimal level.

"The systematic dismantling of the health system in Gaza is a death sentence for tens of thousands of Palestinians in need of health care. This horror must end and health care must be protected. Ceasefire!" the WHO said. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an operation in the area around the hospital on Friday morning and said Hamas was using the building for military purposes and as a hiding place.

Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of detaining the hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya, along with dozens of hospital staff.

Israel’s military has not immediately commented.

kb/wd (dpa, AFP, Reuters)