Israeli forces have stormed into Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza, expelled some staff and displaced people before withdrawing, and bodies of people killed by airstrikes littered the streets outside, its director has said.

The attack had begun with a series of airstrikes on the western and northern sides of Kamal Adwan accompanied by intensive shooting, the hospital director, Hussam Abu Safiyeh, said, speaking via an online chatroom, Reuters reported.

He said troops who swept into the hospital ordered all staff, patients and displaced people into its courtyard before allowing them hours later to return inside, though some staff, including its Indonesian emergency surgery team, and some displaced were ordered to leave the premises for good.