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The Israeli navy stated on Monday it was finishing up a “high-precision” operation at al-Shifa hospital, claiming that senior Hamas officers had regrouped on the medical facility, Gaza's largest and the middle of the warfare. Has been the middle.
one in video tackle In a submit on social media round 3:30 a.m. native time on Monday, the Israeli navy's chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated the navy was within the technique of conducting a raid in “restricted areas” of the hospital advanced. In northern Gaza.
The Israeli navy stated on its Telegram account that throughout the operation, Hamas fighters fired at its troops from contained in the compound and the troopers returned hearth. The well being ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, stated Israeli forces fired missiles on the compound and fired pictures into surgical procedure rooms. Neither the ministry's claims nor the Israeli navy's claims may very well be independently verified.
The well being ministry stated about 30,000 sufferers, medical workers and displaced civilians stay within the hospital and surrounding space, and lots of have been killed and injured. It stated a hearth broke out on the gate of the advanced, suffocating some folks and making it troublesome to succeed in those that had been injured.
By afternoon the raid was persevering with, and 15 Israeli tanks and a number of other bulldozers had been contained in the hospital grounds, stated Alaa Abu al-Qas, who was staying on the hospital along with her father who was being handled there.
“Concern and terror are actually consuming us alive,” she stated in a telephone name from the hall of a hospital constructing the place she was hiding. His voice was barely audible over the loud bangs and explosions.
Ms al-Qas, 19, stated she heard gunfire and the sound of tanks at about 2 a.m., earlier than Israeli troopers used loudspeakers to order folks within the compound to remain inside and shut the home windows. He stated Israeli forces instructed folks they’d be taken to the al-Mawasi space in southern Gaza, though it was not instantly clear how or after they can be taken. Israel has sought to create a humanitarian “secure zone” in al-Mawasi, though civilians have discovered little shelter there.
“We’re sitting right here anxiously, ready for them to get us out of right here,” he stated.
Ms. al-Qas stated she noticed Israeli troopers holding a number of folks within the courtyard of the hospital compound, with their palms tied and their garments partially eliminated. He stated our bodies of people that had apparently been shot had been mendacity within the courtyard.
Israel has stated that the hospital advanced doubles as a secret Hamas navy command middle, calling it one in every of many examples of civilian services that Hamas makes use of to defend its actions.
Hamas has denied the allegations and Israel got here beneath criticism from well being and humanitarian organizations after an assault on the hospital in November. Proof examined by The New York Instances exhibits that Hamas used the hospital as a hideout and had a hardened tunnel beneath it, which equipped water, electrical energy and air-con. However the Israeli navy struggled to show that Hamas maintained a command-and-control middle beneath the power.
“We all know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped inside al-Shifa hospital and are utilizing it to hold out assaults towards Israel,” Mr Hagari stated. He stated there can be “no obligation” for workers and sufferers to depart the hospital, however stated residents can be supplied a route to depart the hospital.
The Gaza Well being Ministry stated the operation started round 2 a.m. “Anybody who tries to maneuver is focused by sniper bullets and quadcopters,” it stated.
Following Israel's high-profile raid on al-Shifa, journalists had been taken to see a shaft within the compound resulting in a tunnel community. Whereas Israel has publicly disclosed the existence of just one tunnel entrance on the hospital grounds, U.S. spy companies say their very own intelligence signifies that Hamas and one other Palestinian group used the tunnel to command forces and Al-Shifa was used to carry some hostages.
hiba yazbek Contributed to the reporting.