Key Points
- Israel said its troops killed fighters in a clash outside the hospital gates.
- Portable incubators, baby food and medical supplies were delivered to the hospital.
- Al-Shifa has been at the centre of a growing crisis in recent days, as Israeli forces encircled Gaza's largest hospital.
Israeli troops entered Gaza's biggest hospital on Wednesday and were searching its rooms and basement, witnesses said, culminating a siege that caused global alarm after what Israel said was a deadly clash at the gates.
Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has become the main target of the ground operation by Israeli forces, who say , which Hamas denies.
World attention has been focused on the fate of hundreds of patients and thousands of displaced civilians trapped inside. Gaza officials say many patients including three newborn babies have died in recent days as a result of Israel's encirclement of the facility.
"I'm appalled by reports of military raids in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza," UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on X, formerly Twitter.
"The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns," he said.
"Hospitals are not battlegrounds."
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus agreed.
"Reports of military incursion into al-Shifa hospital are deeply concerning," he wrote on X, warning that the UN health agency had "lost touch again with health personnel at the hospital".
"We're extremely worried for their and their patients' safety."
The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement that it was "extremely concerned about the impact on sick and wounded people, medical staff, and civilians".
"All measures to avoid any consequences on them must be taken," it said, insisting that "patients, medical staff, and civilians must be at all times protected".
Israel said its troops killed Hamas fighters in a clash outside the gates, and had brought medical supplies for those inside.
"Before entering the hospital our forces were confronted by explosive devices and terrorist squads, fighting ensued in which terrorists were killed," the Israeli military said.
"We can confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital. Our medical teams and Arabic-speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need," the Israeli military said.
Dr Ahmed El Mohallalati, a surgeon, told Reuters by phone that staff were in hiding as the fighting unfolded outside the hospital overnight.
"So yesterday early evening it started... shooting around the hospital and within the hospital. And the sound was really horrible. Look, you can feel that it's, you know, it's very near to the hospital," he said.
"And then we realised that the tanks are moving around the hospital. One of the big tanks entered within the hospital from the eastern main gate, and they were, they were they just parked in the front of the hospital emergency department."
"All kinds of weapons were used around the hospital. They targeted the hospital directly. We try to avoid being near the windows," he said.
Al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, had become the focus of international alarm in recent days, with global calls for a humanitarian ceasefire Source: AFP / -/AFP via Getty Images
"It was very dangerous looking from the glass window. The administration of the hospital told us the occupation army informed them they wanted to search us and search room by room. I am very scared," the man said, asking that his name be withheld for fear of Israeli reprisals.
"There was no shooting because there were no gunmen inside the facility. The soldiers were acting freely as were people inside the hospital, the doctors, the wounded and the displaced," the man said. He later told Reuters that gunfire could occasionally be heard and he was remaining in hiding.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said: "Based on intelligence information and an operational necessity, IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa hospital."
Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told CNN the hospital and compound were for Hamas "a central hub of their operations, perhaps even the beating heart and maybe even a centre of gravity."
Israel has bombarded Gaza since in which more than 1,200 people were killed, according to the Israeli government, and over 200 hostages taken.
More than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Hamas is a Palestinian military and political group, which has gained power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006. Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel's right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the UK and the US. New Zealand and Paraguay list only its military wing as a terrorist group. In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly voted against a resolution condemning Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.
The US said on Tuesday that its own intelligence supported Israel's conclusions. Hamas said that amounted to giving Israel a "green light" for Israel to raid the hospital, and it held US President Joe Biden fully responsible for the operation along with Israel itself.
