ISRAELI troops have stormed southern Gaza’s main hospital, bringing chaos to its hundreds of staff and patients.

The raid followed Israel urging the UN’s top court to reject a new “urgent” referral from South Africa relating to the Israeli attacks in southern Gaza.

Gaza health officials said four people in intensive care died after their oxygen cut off. 

Israel said its troops were searching the facility, where the military said it believes the remains of hostages abducted by Hamas might be located.

Troops had previously besieged Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis for nearly a week, with staff, patients and others inside struggling under heavy fire and dwindling supplies, including food and water. 

Hours before troops seized the hospital on Thursday, Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex, staff said.

Nasser Hospital was the latest in a series of hospitals Israeli forces have besieged and stormed during the war, claiming Hamas was using them for military purposes. 

Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded Nasser Hospital for at least a week, with food, water and supplies inside dwindling and fire from outside killing several people inside, according to health officials.

The assault in southern Gaza sparked a request by South Africa for the UN International Court of Justice to urgently consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting the southern Gaza city of Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide.

In a three-page submission released on Thursday by the court, Israel labelled the new South African request “highly peculiar and improper,” and called for it to be rejected.

It goes on to say the request is “evidence of a renewed and cynical effort by South Africa to use provisional measures as a sword, rather than a shield.”

Israel denies committing genocide in Gaza and claims it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas militants. 

Its invasion of Gaza, which it had previously besieged for 17 years, followed a Hamas attack on several Israeli communities which killed nearly 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage. 

More than 100 captives were freed during a ceasefire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Around 130 hostages remain in Gaza, a quarter of whom are believed to be dead.

At least 28,663 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded since Israel invaded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.