Key Points
- Israeli troops raided the compound of Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital, saying they killed over 20 gunmen.
- The health ministry in Gaza says it’s impossible to rescue anyone after a fire broke out at the hospital’s entrance.
- Al-Shifa was Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war and is now one of the only healthcare facilities even partially operational.
Israeli troops raided the compound of Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital, saying they killed over 20 gunmen, in an operation Palestinian health authorities said caused multiple casualties and set off a fierce fire in one of the buildings.
Special forces, supported by infantry and tanks, conducted a "precise operation" on Monday based on intelligence that the hospital was again being used by Hamas leaders, and were fired upon when they entered the compound, the military said.
"We apprehended more than 200 terrorist suspects that are now being questioned. We eliminated more than 20 terrorists inside the hospital compound," said spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
One Israeli soldier was killed in the fighting, he said.
Al-Shifa, the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war, is now one of the only healthcare facilities that is even partially operational in the north of the territory, and is also housing hundreds of displaced civilians.
"Suddenly, we started to hear sounds of explosions, several bombings, and soon tanks started to roll, they came from the western road and headed toward al-Shifa, then sounds of gunfire and explosions increased," Mohammad Ali, 32, a father of two, who lives around one kilometre from the hospital, told Reuters via a chat app.
"We are terribly worried about the situation at al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza," World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The health ministry in Gaza said a fire broke out at the entrance of the hospital complex, causing cases of suffocation among displaced women and children sheltering in the hospital. It said communication had been cut off, with people trapped inside the surgery and emergency units of one of the buildings.
"There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it's impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows," the ministry said.
The Israeli military issued footage of the overnight operation showing soldiers in the hospital compound engaged in gunfights. The video could not be independently verified.
Footage circulated on social media appeared to show an Israeli tank blocking the main gate of al-Shifa.
The military said troops had been instructed on the importance of operating cautiously as well as on measures to be taken to avoid harm to patients, civilians, medical staff and medical equipment, and said patients were not required to evacuate.
Hamas said in a statement the Israeli military had committed a new crime by directly targeting the hospital buildings without caring about patients, medical staff or displaced people in it.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' 7 October attack in which more than 1,200 people were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 31,726 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
