Israel’s operation at Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital intensifies (file photo)
New Delhi:
Israel has intensified its operations at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza after discovering weapons and equipment belonging to Hamas (Israel Gaza War). The United Nations and countries in the Middle East condemned Israel’s action against the hospital, which houses thousands of people, including newborns.
Important information regarding the case:
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Israeli soldiers stormed Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza on Wednesday and continued their search operation throughout the day. In a video, the Israeli military showed off automatic weapons, grenades, ammunition and flak jackets from the hospital complex.
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“Tonight we launched a targeted operation at Shifa Hospital. We are moving forward,” Major General Yaron Finkelman, the head of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, said on the army’s Telegram channel.
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Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of building a command center in a tunnel network beneath the hospital. America has also supported this claim of Israel. However, Hamas denies this. The Israeli Defense Forces made no mention of finding any tunnel entrances at Al Shifa Hospital after their discovery.
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The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Israel had deployed bulldozers around Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital.
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The United Nations estimates that there are about 2,300 patients, staff and displaced civilians inside the hospital, including 36 infants. Three premature babies died last week after the hospital ran out of fuel to keep the incubators running.
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The director of Al Shifa Hospital said yesterday that water, electricity and oxygen were cut off in all departments due to Israeli soldiers entering the premises.
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International concern over Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza has grown since news of the Israeli operation on the hospital emerged. UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on Twitter, “The safety of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must be above all other concerns. Hospitals are not battlefields.”
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Qatar has called for an “urgent international investigation” involving the United Nations into the targeting of hospitals by Israeli troops.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched an offensive against Hamas following an attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on October 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and nearly 240 taken hostage in the deadliest day in its 75-year history.
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Since then, Israel has besieged and bombarded Gaza’s population of 2.3 million. Health officials in Gaza, trusted by the United Nations, say about 11,500 Palestinians have been confirmed dead, about 40% of them children, and more buried under the rubble.