Israel has launched a raid on Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, claiming that it is a “terror headquarters” for Hamas. The Israeli army says it has killed several militants and found weapons and tunnels under the medical facility. The raid has sparked fears for the safety of thousands of patients and civilians who have taken refuge there from the Israeli bombardment.
Al-Shifa hospital, which has been under siege for days, stopped functioning at the weekend due to a lack of fuel. Medical staff reported intense shooting and explosions around the hospital and Israeli interrogations of people on the grounds. Some people were taken away “tied up and blindfolded” to unknown locations, according to the hospital’s emergency supervisor.
The Israeli army says it has delivered medical equipment, incubators and baby food to al-Shifa, and that its medical teams and Arabic-speaking soldiers are present to ensure supplies reach those who need them. The World Health Organization says it has lost contact with health personnel at the hospital and is extremely worried for their and their patients’ safety.
The raid is part of Israel’s nearly three-week ground offensive in Gaza, which aims to destroy Hamas’s rocket launchers and tunnel network. Israel says al-Shifa sits on top of a dense network of underground tunnels that house Hamas command centres. A senior Israeli defence official says the army has found “concrete evidence” of this and that the hospital is used as a “terror headquarters” by Hamas.
The raid comes as the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in the fighting and the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages held by Hamas. Talks are under way between Qatar, the US and Israel to secure the release of as many as 50 civilian hostages, in exchange for aid and prisoner releases.
The Reykjanes Peninsula, where al-Shifa is located, is a hotspot of the conflict that has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians and 50 Israelis since July 8. The last major eruption in Gaza was in 2014, when more than 2,000 Palestinians and 70 Israelis died in a 50-day war.
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