A journalist who witnessed the scene at Al-Nasser hospital said the man warned others to leave before he was shot by a sniper

Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man on Tuesday after sending him into al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to warn others to evacuate, according to local media.

In footage shared online, the man is shown wearing protective overalls with his hands tied talking to Palestinians inside the hospital.

According to video testimony by Palestinian journalist Mohammed Akram al-Helo, which was shared by local media, the man was detained and arrested in the hospital, before being sent back to tell others that they needed to leave the building.

“He said the Israeli forces harassed him and treated him badly, and that if he did not do as he was told, they would storm the hospital, wound people and kill him,” Helo explained.

“When he finally left the hospital after doing what he was told, the Israeli soldiers shot him, he was shot three times in cold blood, in the vicinity of the hospital," he added.

"His mother tried to convince him to not head back out of the hospital, but he had to because he was severely threatened."

A surgeon at the al-Nasser Hospital confirmed to Middle East Eye that civilians were killed but it is unclear whether they included the man who was sent in to warn others by the Israelis.

Dr Khaled Alserr, who is one of the last remaining surgeons in the hospital, described a "horrible" scene during the attacks on the facility and its vicinity in voice notes sent via an instant messaging service to Middle East Eye.

  "Today, the Israeli army told everyone that they will bomb the hospital and told people to evacuate the hospital within half an hour," said Alserr.  "They [the Israelis] shouted at people using speakers on a drone and sent messages via people they have imprisoned before, by sending them to the hospital administration, telling them that they must leave.”

Alserr’s account confirms that Palestinians were killed at the entrance of the hospital.

“Despite telling people to evacuate the hospital through a 'secure way' - they shot three civilians in front of the hospital gates,” he added. 

Hospital turned into ‘battleground’

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that three people were killed by Israeli sniper fire at the hospital, while 10 others were wounded.

The ministry warned that the situation was becoming more dangerous for civilians as Israeli forces increased their activity in the area. 

A medical supply warehouse caught fire in the attack and the ministry stated that it estimates around 80 percent of the items in the store room were completely destroyed. 

On Wednesday, Al Jazeera journalist Hani Mahmoud said that it is becoming “more and more risky” for medical staff and the hundreds of displaced people sheltering there. 

  The northern gate of the hospital has been destroyed and is now blocked with a pile of debris and sand, Mahmoud said, adding that the hospital has turned into a “battle zone”.

“Soldiers are shooting at everything in sight – including a doctor and a nurse. There are bodies in the courtyard,” he explained.

'Soldiers are shooting at everything in sight – including a doctor and a nurse. There are bodies in the courtyard'

- Hani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera

“Those people were killed after being told to evacuate. This situation is extremely overwhelming for people inside the facility right now."

Israel’s attacks on hospitals may violate the Geneva Conventions, which require the protection of medical facilities.

“It is forbidden to turn recognised civilian hospitals into a conflict zone. It is also forbidden to use civilian populations, the sick or the injured as human shields, it is a war crime, as is fighting from inside a hospital,” international law expert Mathilde Philip-Gay told The Guardian.

Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, also prohibits: “Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected.”