Alarm over fate of Gaza hospital after Israeli raid

There was growing concern Friday over a key Gaza hospital a day after a raid by the Israeli army, with the Hamas-run territory's health ministry saying several patients had died there due to a lack of oxygen.

The ministry said power was cut off and the generators stopped after the raid at the Nasser Hospital in the main southern city of Khan Younis, leading to the deaths of five patients.

In recent days, intense fighting has raged in the vicinity of the hospital-one of the Palestinian territory's last remaining major medical facilities that are still operational.

The Israeli army said its forces at the hospital had taken into custody more than "20 terrorists" suspected of involvement in Hamas's October 7 attack that sparked the war.

Troops entered the hospital on Thursday, acting on what the military said was "credible intelligence" that hostages seized in the attack had been held at the facility and that bodies of some may still be inside. It later acknowledged it had found no evidence.

Gaza's health ministry also raised fears for four other patients in the intensive care unit and three children, saying it held Israel "responsible for the lives of patients and staff considering that the complex is now under its full control".