© AP / Abed KhaledFILE PHOTO: An injured Palestinian woman is wheeled into al-Shifa hospital following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City, November 5, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched an operation against al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, the Palestinian enclave's largest medical complex. IDF officials say the facility has been used for military purposes by Hamas, a claim rejected by the armed group.
The IDF announced the raid early Wednesday morning, saying it would carry out a "precise and targeted operation" against Hamas fighters within a "specified area in the Shifa Hospital," also accusing the group of using "human shields" there.
"In recent weeks, the IDF has publicly warned time and again that Hamas' continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital," the military added.
On Tuesday, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Army considers Gaza hospitals to be legitimate military targets, and reiterated claims that Palestinian forces maintain a command center in underground tunnels below al-Shifa.
Hamas later denounced the IDF raid, saying it would hold both Israel and the US "fully responsible for the repercussions of the occupation army's storming of the Shifa Medical Complex." The militants accused US officials of peddling a "false narrative" that would enable "more massacres against civilians," after the White House backed Israeli claims that Hamas was using the hospital for military purposes.
In comments to reporters on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said US intelligence had confirmed that "Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad members operate a command and control [center] from al-Shifa," claiming the groups have "stored weapons there." However, Kirby stressed that Washington does not support Israeli airstrikes on the complex, stating that civilians at the site "deserve not to be caught in the crossfire."
Gaza's Health Ministry said it was informed of the IDF raid in advance, and that Israeli forces had warned those inside the hospital "not to be near the windows," according to ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra.
The director of al-Shifa Hospital, Mohammad Abu Salmiya, described dire conditions at the facility in comments to AFP on Tuesday night, saying staff had been forced to bury at least 179 dead bodies in a "mass grave."
"There are bodies littered in the hospital complex, and there is no longer electricity at the morgues," Salmiya said, adding that seven babies and 29 intensive care patients were among those buried in the hospital courtyard.
Israel launched an unprecedented military bombardment of the densely-populated Gaza enclave in retaliation for a Hamas attack last month which left around 1,200 Israelis dead. Over 11,000 people have died in weeks of artillery and airstrikes in Gaza, Palestinian health officials have said, adding that around 40% of the fatalities are children.
Comment: Claims and counter claims while people die.
Later Wednesday:
- 15 November 2023 20:36 GMT The Israel Defense Forces said they have discovered evidence that Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital was used as an operational headquarters by Hamas. "During searches inside one of the hospital's wards, the troops located a room containing unique technological means, combat equipment, and military equipment used by the Hamas terrorist organization," the IDF said in a statement. The military released images and video of weapons, including assault rifles, grenades, and ammunition, as well as body armor and computer equipment. It claimed that the stash was found by the IDF's elite Shaldag unit and other members of the 36th Division inside the hospital's MRI center. IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated the troops found Hamas uniforms "thrown on the hospital floor so that the terrorists could escape in civilian guise," arguing that the findings "unequivocally prove that the hospital was used for terror, in complete violation of international law." Hamas has denied using Al-Shifa and other hospitals for military purposes.
- 18:53 GMT The US denied giving Israel permission to bomb Gaza's al-Shifa hospital on Wednesday after Hamas blamed President Joe Biden for the devastating onslaught. Washington "did not give an OK to their military operations around the hospital," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, claiming "These are Israeli military operations that they plan."Kirby acknowledged Biden had spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ahead of the attack, but refused to say whether the president had been forewarned or provide any other details of the conversation. "There's no expectation by the United States to map [Israeli actions] all out," Kirby said, while maintaining the US had "certainly talked to them about concerns over civilians." Hamas accused the US of giving the "green light to perpetrate further massacres against civilians," declaring Biden was "wholly responsible" for the deadly strike on al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, where thousands of displaced civilians have sought shelter since Israel began its war on the Palestinian militant group last month. "We believe hospitals should be protected," Kirby claimed, echoing Biden's words from earlier in the week. While Israel has insisted there is a Hamas command center beneath the hospital complex, no proof of this claim has been produced.
Savages or just state level psychopathy?