Around two weeks after the start of the military operation in the Shifa hospital in the city of Gaza, the Israeli army withdrew again during the night, according to Palestinian reports. Local media reported that the operation left severe damage to the buildings of the largest medical complex in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli army spokesman said they were checking the reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the operation at Shifa Hospital on Sunday evening as a great success. He spoke of a “precise and surgical” military operation. More than 200 terrorists have been killed and hundreds have surrendered, Netanyahu said.
First use last November
According to Israel, the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas had once again set up combat and command positions in the extensive area after the Israeli military had already stormed the hospital last November. Israel accuses the Islamist Hamas of systematically misusing medical facilities for military purposes. Hamas rejects this.
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said a week ago that Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters had barricaded themselves in various departments of the hospital. Hamas is shooting at Israeli troops from the emergency room and maternity ward, among other places. They fired mortar shells and caused serious damage and fires in the hospital complex. In recent days, the military wing of Hamas has claimed several attacks on Israeli troops in the area of the Shifa Hospital.