Title: Israeli Military Raids Gaza’s Largest Hospital in Targeted Operation
In a targeted operation against Hamas, the Israeli military raided Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa Hospital, in the early hours of Wednesday morning. This operation comes as Israeli troops seized broader control of northern Gaza, capturing the territory’s legislature building and its police headquarters.
The Israeli military claimed to have raided specific areas of the hospital complex, Shifa, while attempting to avoid harming civilians. This statement gave no further details.
In recent days, Shifa Hospital has been the focus of the war, where hundreds of patients, staff, and displaced people have been trapped. The hospital had stopped operations over the weekend due to dwindling supplies and a lack of electricity, leading to a mass grave being dug for 120 bodies in the yard.
The Health Ministry reported that 40 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday. The Israeli military said it began an effort to transfer incubators to Shifa Hospital, but they would be useless without electricity.
The news of the hospital raids and the deteriorating conditions of Gaza’s largest hospital came as the Palestinian Red Crescent evacuated patients, doctors, and displaced families from another Gaza City hospital, Al-Quds.
The Israeli government has vowed to end Hamas rule in Gaza after the attack on October 7, resulting in the taking of roughly 240 hostages and killing approximately 1,200 people.
The Israeli onslaught has taken a devastating toll on Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, with more than 11,200 people, two-thirds of them women and minors, being killed.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said it would soon cease relief operations, including bringing limited supplies of food and medicine, due to empty fuel storage facilities in Gaza.
Amid the standoff at Shifa Hospital, with clashing narratives about the war, the Israeli military claims Hamas uses civilians as human shields, while Palestinians, rights groups, and international critics argue that Israel is recklessly harming civilians.
The Israeli military has been accused of firing at evacuees attempting to leave the hospital, while Israeli forces allege that Hamas uses hospitals and tunnels underneath them to support military operations and hold hostages.
Meanwhile, families and supporters of the roughly 240 people being held hostage by Hamas have started a protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling for the government to do more to bring them home.
Independent accounts of the fighting in Gaza City have been nearly impossible to gather, as communications to the north have largely collapsed. Despite their significant gains in Gaza City, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant acknowledged that the war would be long, stating, “We’re talking about long months, not a day or two.”
Israel’s efforts to provide humanitarian support, including allowing U.N. trucks to refill at the Rafah border, demonstrate the complexity and urgency of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The continuing conflict and the impact on civilians highlight the need for immediate international intervention and peace efforts.