Israel's military on Saturday said a hospital director is being held as a suspected Hamas militant after a north Gaza raid the World Health Organization said left the area's last major health facility emptied of patients and staff.

The attack on the Kamal Adwan Hospital came as Israel stepped up an offensive in northern Gaza that began in October and has killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to flee. The Israeli military said it is fighting to prevent Hamas regrouping in Gaza’s north,

At least 50 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza on Thursday night. The Israeli military subsequently stormed the hospital, Al Jazeera reported.

The Israeli military surrounded one of the last functioning hospitals in northern Gaza, ordering patients and staff to evacuate and remove their clothing, say eyewitnesses, as concern grows for patients and health workers that remain in the facility.

Israel's army also detained the director of what is one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals, Palestinian medical officials said on Saturday.View on euronews

Israeli forces have overtaken one of the last hospitals operating in northern Gaza. Hospital sources say the Israeli troops forced evacuations of the remaining doctors and staff and set fire to parts of the facility.