Middle East crisis: Israeli military raids on Gaza hospital, saying Hamas has regrouped there

The Israeli military said on its Telegram account that during the operation, Hamas fighters fired at its soldiers from the complex and that soldiers fired back. The Health Ministry in Gaza, which is run by Hamas, said Israeli forces had fired rockets at the complex and shot at operating rooms. Neither the ministry’s claims nor those of the Israeli military could be independently verified.

The hospital and its surrounding area house about 30,000 patients, medical staff and displaced civilians, and a number of people were killed and injured, the Health Ministry said. It added that a fire had broken out at the gate of the complex, causing some people to suffocate and making it difficult to reach the injured.

By midday, the attack continued and 15 Israeli tanks and several bulldozers were on the hospital grounds, said Alaa Abu al-Kaas, who was staying at the hospital to accompany her father who was being treated there.

“The fear and terror are really eating us alive,” she said in a phone call from a hallway of one of the hospital buildings where she was hiding. Her voice was barely audible amid loud bangs and explosions.

Ms al-Kaas, 19, said she heard shots and the sound of tanks around 2 a.m., after which Israeli soldiers used loudspeakers to order people in the complex to stay indoors and close their windows. She said Israeli forces told people they would be transferred to the country Al-Mawasi area in southern Gaza, although it was not immediately clear when or how they would be moved. Israel has attempted to create a humanitarian “safe zone” in Al-Mawasi, although civilians have found little shelter there.

“We are sitting here anxiously waiting for them to evacuate us out of here,” she said.

Ms al-Kaas said she saw Israeli soldiers in the courtyard of the hospital complex detaining several people, binding their hands and partially removing their clothing. She added that the bodies of people who had apparently been shot were lying in the courtyard.

Israel has said the hospital complex served as a secret military command center for Hamas, calling it one of many examples of civilian facilities used by Hamas to protect its activities.

Hamas has denied the accusations, and Israel subsequently faced criticism from health and humanitarian organizations storming of the hospital in November. Evidence examined of The New York Times suggests that Hamas used the hospital as cover and maintained a paved tunnel underneath that was supplied with water, power and air conditioning. But the Israeli military has struggled to prove that Hamas had a command and control center under the facility.

“We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped at Al-Shifa Hospital and are using it to order attacks on Israel,” Mr. Hagari said. He added that there would be “no obligation” for staff and patients to evacuate, but said a passage would be provided for citizens to leave the hospital.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said the operation began around 2 a.m. “Anyone who tries to move will be targeted by sniper bullets and quadcopters,” the report said.

After Israel’s high-profile attack on Al-Shifa, reporters were needed to see it a shaft at the complex that leads to a tunnel network. Although Israel has publicly revealed the existence of only one tunnel entrance on the hospital grounds, That’s what American spy agencies say that their own intelligence indicates that Hamas and another Palestinian group have used Al-Shifa to command forces and hold some hostages.

Hiba Yazbek reporting contributed.