Nearly four days after the Israeli military stormed the biggest hospital in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organisation described the complex as a “death zone” where several patients had died because medical services had been shut down.

There were 291 patients, including 32 babies in extremely critical condition, remaining at Al-Shifa Hospital, the UN agency said in a statement late on Saturday, after Israeli forces allowed a UN team to tour the facility for an hour. Earlier in the day, hundreds of patients and civilians sheltering at the hospital had fled south.

The WHO said that the movement came after an evacuation order from the Israeli military. But Israeli officials said that they had agreed to a request from the hospital authorities to allow safe passage for people who wanted to leave Al-Shifa, and that they had brought food and water into the complex.

Capturing the hospital — and Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the enclave — was a watershed moment for Israel last week.

Israeli forces are continuing operations at Al-Shifa, Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, said in a statement. Their top priority, he said, was uncovering information about the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

Six weeks after that assault, the fate of the more than 200 people identified by Israel as abducted by Hamas and other groups remains uncertain.

At Al-Shifa Hospital, Israeli troops discovered a shaft on Friday night and were scouring the underground area it led to, Admiral Hagari said.

Heavy fighting continues near the hospital, according to the WHO. It said the UN team spent only an hour inside Al-Shifa but found “evident” signs of shelling and gunfire. UN personnel also saw a mass grave at the entrance that they were told contained the bodies of more than 80 people, the WHO added.

The WHO said it was trying to move the remaining patients — including the 32 babies in need of urgent care — and around 25 health workers to other hospitals in Gaza. “Immediate efforts must be made to restore the functionality of Al-Shifa and all other hospitals to provide urgently needed health care services in Gaza,” the WHO said.