The World Health Organization said on Sunday it had lost contact with Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip.

He added on the “X” platform: “We assume that those we have contacted are now joining the tens of thousands of displaced people who have taken refuge in the hospital, but are now leaving the area.”

“Some of those who fled the hospital were shot dead and some wounded, and some killed,” the organization said, renewing its call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as “the only way to save.” Lives and end the terrible suffering there.

“Patients seeking health care should never fear, and health workers sworn to treat them should never be forced to risk their lives,” the organization said, according to a report by the Arab World News Agency.

The organization’s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had earlier expressed the organization’s deep concern for the safety of the hospital’s health workers, patients, the injured, children and those displaced inside.

He cited what he described as “terrifying” reports of repeated attacks on the hospital, noting that Israeli tanks surrounded the hospital.

Pointing to reports of hospital leavers being shot at and wounded or killed, he said the organization was calling for “sustainable, orderly and safe medical evacuation of patients and victims of critical injuries without barriers.”

In turn, on Sunday, UNICEF expressed its concern over reports indicating the death of premature babies as a result of power cuts at Al-Shifa Hospital.

The organization said on the “X” site: “Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza has no electricity and we are concerned about the deaths of premature babies in incubators.” The organization called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on humanitarian grounds, saying “hospitals and children must be protected”.

The Palestinian Information Center reported that the Al-Shifa hospital was cut off in the early hours of this morning.