March 17 (UPI) — Israeli forces overnight launched a “high-precision operation” in the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, officials said, attracting swift condemnation from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announced the raid in a video statement, saying they had “concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action,” specifically that senior Hamas militants were inside the medical facility and were using it to launch attacks against Israel.
He said the raid will not prevent the hospital from functioning and that while there is no need for patients and medical staff to evacuate a passageway will be established so they can exit the facility.
“Our targeted mission isn’t just an operational necessity — it’s a global imperative,” he said. “We seek no harm to the civilians that Hamas is hiding behind, which is why we will conduct this operation with caution and care.”
IDF troops are currently conducting a precise operation in the area of Shifa hospital-based on intelligence information indicating the use of the hospital by senior Hamas terrorists to conduct and promote terrorist activity.
Watch IDF Spokeperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari describe… pic.twitter.com/jKdUdNpY91— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 18, 2024
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on its official Telegram channel that the attack began at about 2 a.m. local time Monday, resulting in a number of people being killed and injured.
It said the Israeli forces were targeting the specialized surgeries building. Military vehicles were in the hospital’s courtyards. Some 30,000 displaced people, patients and staff were present during the raid.
The attack resulted in a fire to ignite, it said.
“Everyone who tries to move is targeted by sniper bullets and quadcopters,” it said.
It earlier condemned the raid as a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law.” Hospitals and other medical facilities are protected from attacks by the Geneva Convention.
“The goal of the Israeli military offensive is to continue destroying the health system in northern Gaza,” the health ministry said in a statement.
“We demand the international community to reject Israeli occupation practices against the Medical Healing Complex and Gaza Hospitals.”
Hagari said his forces had undergone specific training for the mission. Arabic speakers will be also on the ground to communicate with patients and hospital staff and IDF doctors will be present to assist those in need, he said, adding that soldiers will provide food, water and other supplies.
“We call upon all Hamas terrorists hiding in hospitals: surrender immediately,” he said. “Medical facilities should never be exploited for terror. Hamas must be held accountable.”
The hospital is the largest in Gaza and has offered shelter to tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced by Israel’s war against Hamas.
Amid the war, its functioning has been limited by a lack of medical supplies.
In mid-November, the IDF said it had uncovered a fortified tunnel system used by Hamas under the hospital’s complex.
