Israeli forces said they hit an ambulance in the Gaza Strip carrying Hamas militants on Friday, hours after the group claimed the Jewish state targeted civilians in the strike.

Via a Friday post on X, the Israel Defense Forces announced the strike after it identified a "terrorist cell" within the ambulance.

"In response, an IDF aircraft struck and neutralized the Hamas terrorists, who were operating within the ambulance," the Israeli military wrote. "We emphasize that this area in Gaza is a war zone. Civilians are repeatedly called upon to evacuate southward for their own safety."

The vehicle was near Al-Shifa hospital and reportedly on its way to Egypt, containing at least some civilian Palestinians from Gaza City. No casualties have been reported.

Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman of the Gaza Health Ministry, had claimed to local television before the incident that several trips like it would occur to find better medical help for critically injured Palestinians.

Graphic footage began to circulate online, purportedly showing the strike's aftermath.

"Hamas has a long record of abusing ambulances in Gaza to move combatants, commanders and weapons," said Jonathan Conricus, the IDF's former international spokesman and currently in active-duty reserves.

"By doing so, they are violating int'l [international] law. When we perceive an immediate threat, we are well within our rights to strike as they have relinquished special protection," he added.

Israel has repeatedly claimed that Hamas is housing command centers and tunnel entrances at the hospital near where the ambulance was struck.

IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari shared a video last week demonstrating the intricate system, which contains passageways and chambers deep beneath the hospital and other civilian buildings.

"Hamas wages war from hospitals," Hagari said, adding that it "not only endangers the lives of Israelis but exploits innocent Gazan civilians as human shields."

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry has stressed that over a dozen hospitals across the strip are no longer functioning because of damage from strikes and a lack of fuel.

• IDF Releases Audio of Hamas Admitting Hospital Strike
• Hundreds More Wounded, Foreigners Wait to Flee War-Torn Gaza