The Israeli army entered al-Shifa hospital today, the largest in the Gaza Strip, where thousands of displaced Palestinians are being held, for a “targeted” operation against Hamas, which Israel and the US accuse of hiding strategic military infrastructure there. On his 40th day war between the Palestinian movement and Israel, the army announced early this morning “a targeted precision operation against Hamas in a specific sector of al-Shifa Hospital”, in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Israeli soldiers have interrogated people at the hospital, including doctors and patients, while tanks and military personnel carriers have surrounded the al-Shifa compoundsaid a journalist on the ground working with AFP.
As the UN and non-governmental organizations express deep concern over the situation of civilians in hospitals in northern Gaza, the Israeli army said it had sent “Arabic-speaking medical teams trained” for this type of “complex” environment. , so that “no harm happens to the civilians, whom Hamas uses as human shields”.
“Dozens of soldiers” inside the hospital
Hamas Deputy Health Minister Yousef Abu Ris, who is in al-Shifa, told AFP that “dozens of soldiers and members of the special forces” of Israel are “in the emergency department and reception” of the hospital, while “tanks entered the hospital complex”.
The UN and the international community must intervene “immediately” to end this operation, he stressed.
Many thousands of people, patients, staff and war-displaced civilians are piling into al Shifa. Doctors and international NGOs stress that none of them can leave the hospital as they risk being targeted by gunfire as fighting rages between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants.
The war broke out on October 7 after Hamas attacked Israel, killing more than 1,200 people. In addition, the Palestinian organization is holding about 240 hostages in Gaza, according to AFP and Athenian Agency.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “eliminate” the Islamist movement and has been relentlessly bombing the besieged Gaza Strip ever since. On October 27, a ground operation was launched.
The Israeli bombings have killed 11,320 people, most of them civilians, including 4,650 children, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
During the night the ministry pointed out that the Israeli army informed the hospital of its intention to conduct an operation there.
“We consider the occupation (as Hamas characterizes Israel), the international community, the USA fully responsible for the safety of the thousands of members of the medical teams, the wounded, the displaced in the area. We are warning of a massacre at the hospital,” he underlined.
“Human Shields”
The Israeli army estimates that al-Shifa hospital houses strategically important Hamas infrastructure, which it accuses of using civilians “like human shields”.
The Palestinian movement and Gaza’s health ministry deny the allegations and have repeatedly called for “international commissions of inquiry” to visit.
The White House confirmed yesterday, Tuesday, that Hamas and Palestinian Jihad, another Palestinian armed group, “have a command and control center at al-Shifa Hospital.”
“The adoption by the White House and the Pentagon of the false narrative of the occupation, in which the resistance is using the al-Shifa medical complex for military purposes, gives the green light to the Israeli occupation to commit new barbaric massacres in hospitals, with the aim of destroy Gaza’s health system,” Hamas, which Israel, the US and the EU label a “terrorist” organization, said in a statement written in English.
Washington did not comment on the ongoing Israeli operation, but assured that it was against “the exchange of fire in a hospital, where innocent people, helpless people, sick people, trying to get the medical care they need.”
“Return all hostages”
Meanwhile, in Israel, pressure is mounting on the government to release the hostages held by Hamas.
The Forum of Families of Hostages and Missing Persons last night called on the Israeli government to approve a deal “so that all hostages from Gaza can return home”.
About 100 relatives of hostages, with their photos printed on black T-shirts, began a 63km march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the same time, a television station close to Egypt’s security services reported that the head of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, discussed in Cairo “the issue of the exchange of prisoners.”
On Sunday, Netanyahu had hinted at a possible deal to free the hostages, but Hamas later accused Israel of “hesitating”.
Source: News Beast
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