The Israel Defence Forces announced an operation is underway at Gaza’s largest hospital on Monday morning local time.
Troops are carrying out a ‘precise operation’ following intelligence that senior Hamas officials were using the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City as a command centre to plan and carry out terror attacks, the IDF said in a statement.
Loud bangs caused the sky to light up in unverified video footage posted on social media with one person claiming the area was ‘under siege’ and a ‘complete mess’ in what was described as an ‘Israeli bombardment’.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that the operation was targeting limited areas within the hospital complex based on ‘concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action’.
‘Our targeted mission isn’t just an operational necessity; it’s a global imperative,’ he said in video footage posted on the IDF’s X page.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari stated that the operation at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza was targeting limited areas within the hospital complex
‘Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza. We seek no harm to the civilians that Hamas is hiding behind’ Hagari said.
Adding: ‘We call upon all Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals, surrender immediately. Medical facilities should never be exploited for terror. Hamas must be held accountable.’
IDF doctors and Arabic speakers accompanied security forces on the operation to help communicate with patients and staff, the Times of Israel reported.
The patients and medics were not told to evacuate but pathways were cleared for civilians, the outlet reported.
The Israeli army said ‘the IDF will continue the humanitarian effort and provide food, water and additional supplies to the patients and civilians in the complex’ once the mission is complete.
The hospital became the focus of the Israel-Hamas war in November as Israel closed in on what it says is a façade for a Hamas stronghold – claims the hospital and Hamas denied.
The hospital became the focus of the Israel-Hamas war in November when the IDF said it found tunnels it claimed were used by Hamas
Israeli troops, some wearing face masks and firing guns in the air, stormed the hospital that month.
They claimed to have found a tunnel shaft during the raid which they said was used by Hamas terrorists.
The IDF released a video it said showed a tunnel entrance in an outdoor area of Al-Shifa hospital, two days after Israeli troops entered its grounds to hunt for a Hamas command centre they say is beneath the medical facility.
During the raid, Israel said its troops found the bodies of two hostages – Yehudit Weiss, 64, and Israeli soldier Noa Marciano, 19 – from a building adjacent to the hospital.