Fears for thousands sheltering at Gaza City hospital as Israeli forces close in

Strikes increasing near al-Shifa hospital, where it is said more than 50,000 people may have taken shelter

• Gaza's largest hospital being bombarded, WHO says

Dar al-Shifa hospital, whose name translates as house of healing", has long been seen as a vital place of shelter during Israeli attacks. In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fled the bombing for what they hoped was protection in the grounds of the largest hospital in the territory.

Now, as Israeli troops surround Gaza City and draw closer to the hospital, the increasing strikes nearby and on parts of the hospital grounds have fuelled fears that the facility and the thousands of civilians sheltering outside will struggle to survive the worst sequence of attacks the city has endured to date.