The armed group Hamas said its forces engaged the Israeli army in the vicinity of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, and affirmed that they did not deploy forces inside the hospital.
Smoke rises during an Israeli raid at Al Shifa hospital and surrounding area. Photo: Reuters
Since dawn on March 18, the Israeli army has launched an attack on Al Shifa hospital and searched inside the area, where the army believes there are tunnels used by Hamas as a base or shelter for terrorists. warriors.
The Israeli military insisted on minimizing harm to civilians, patients and medical staff there, while providing them with food, water and adequate health care.
Meanwhile, health authorities in Gaza said the attack at Al Shifa hospital caused five Palestinian patients to die due to lack of care, food and water for 5 days. The condition of other patients is also deteriorating.
Al Shifa is currently one of the few partially functioning healthcare facilities in northern Gaza and also houses displaced civilians.
Residents living nearby said Israeli forces blew up dozens of houses and apartments in the streets surrounding the hospital and leveled the roads. They said the nearby private Al-Helo hospital was also attacked by the army.
The Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israeli tanks attacked several buildings at Al Shifa hospital and set fire to a surgical department, killing about 240 patients, their relatives and dozens of other workers. The medical officer was detained.
The Israeli military said that so far, more than 350 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters have been detained at the hospital and a total of 800 people have been interrogated.
Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)
