Israeli forces raided Shifa hospital in western Gaza, accompanied by drones and heavy gunfire. The Israeli army claimed it came under fire during the raid, which left dead and wounded.
According to the AA report, based on eyewitness accounts, Israeli tanks and military vehicles suddenly entered areas west of Gaza City under heavy fire and surrounded Shifa Hospital, which is home to thousands of displaced, sick and wounded people, targeting parts of the hospital with artillery shells and drones.
Before the raid, some of the displaced managed to leave the hospital, but Israeli forces targeted the hospital and opened fire inside, killing and injuring some of the displaced.
Meanwhile, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement: “The IDF is carrying out a high-precision operation in limited areas of Shifa Hospital following concrete evidence that requires immediate action. We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped in Shifa Hospital and are using it to direct attacks against Israel”. “There is no obligation for patients and medical staff to evacuate the hospital, but there is and will be a passage for other civilians to leave the hospital,” Hagari added.
In a separate statement, the IDF said more than 80 people had been arrested in the operation.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza called on the international community to stop the massacre at the hospital.
The statement by the Ministry of Health pointed out that a fire broke out at the door of Shifa Hospital, that women and children who took refuge inside the hospital were affected by smoke and that communication was cut off, and stressed that many refugees were trapped in the special operating theatre building and the emergency department in building number 8. The statement said that many Palestinians were killed and injured, and the wounded could not be rescued due to the inability to extinguish the fire, and pointed out that anyone who approached the windows was targeted.
The statement pointed out that Israeli forces have once again committed a massacre against Shifa Hospital and called on the UN and all international organisations to stop this ongoing massacre of patients, wounded, refugees and medical staff in Shifa Hospital.
Last November, the IDF carried out a major operation against Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.
