The Israeli health minister has requested that armed defence teams be placed at all hospitals in Israel “to protect them from possible security threats from inside and outside the country”.
Uriel Busso warned missile and terror attacks could threaten medical facilities and injured doctors, patients and visitors.
“The mass call-up of military reservists has left health institutions with half the number of its usual armed security guards, leaving them vulnerable at this time when security should be stepped up,” Mr Busso wrote in a letter to the national security minister requesting the help.
Hospitals in Gaza have been enduring the effects of an aerial bombardment from Israel in response to Hamas’s bloody assault into Israel on 7 October..
Last week, Hamas claimed an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City killed hundreds of Palestinians. Israel said the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket by militant groups within Gaza.