Israeli forces conducted a raid on al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where thousands of Palestinians sought shelter amid heavy attacks in the surrounding area. The Israeli military described it as a "targeted operation" against Hamas, citing intelligence from both Israel and the United States.


Continuing the developments at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City:

Medical staff relocate premature babies within Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital.
Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza is compelled to inter deceased patients in a 'mass grave.'
Urgent appeals emerge from the confines of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, which is currently under siege.

Israel alleges that Hamas, the governing group in Gaza, is using the hospital as a base, a claim rejected by Hamas. Israel, however, has not presented evidence to substantiate its assertion.

During the incursion, numerous Israeli soldiers entered the facility, with tanks positioned in the medical complex's courtyard, as reported by Al Jazeera's Tareq Abu Azzoum from Khan Younis. Dr. Munir al-Bursh, the general director of hospitals in Gaza, mentioned that Israeli forces searched al-Shifa's basement and entered surgical and emergency buildings.

Sources inside al-Shifa report that Israeli soldiers are using loudspeakers to instruct young men to surrender. Approximately 30 individuals were allegedly taken to the courtyard, where they were disrobed, blindfolded, and interrogated by Israeli soldiers. Additionally, sources state that Israeli forces have detonated a warehouse containing medicine and medical devices.

Dr. Ahmed El Mokhallalati, a surgeon within the facility, reported hearing heavy gunfire and explosions in the compound, describing the situation as terrifying and horrible for families, civilians, and staff. Approximately 700 patients, including 100 in critical condition, remain at the hospital, where over 1,000 medical staff are trapped without sufficient medicine and fuel for treatment.

Al-Shifa Hospital shelters thousands of civilians displaced by Israel's five-week bombardment of Gaza, resulting in over 11,200 Palestinian casualties. There's no indication that the more than 200 people taken captive during Hamas's October 7 attack, which claimed around 1,200 lives, are held at al-Shifa.

Mokhallalati expressed the prevailing fear gripping the staff, patients, and displaced individuals confined within the facility.

"We're uncertain about their intentions. There's an ominous concern about potential harm or terrorization. We are aware that the propaganda is false, and both sides acknowledge that there is no military presence at the al-Shifa medical center."

"Hospitals should not be arenas of conflict."


The vicinity around al-Shifa has endured numerous Israeli assaults over several weeks. The Israeli government issued evacuation warnings for the facility, which Palestinian medical officials rejected, citing their commitment to not abandon patients.



In response to the raid, Palestinian Authority Health Minister Dr. Mai al-Kaila condemned Israeli forces for committing what she described as a new crime against humanity, medical staff, and patients. The Palestinian government holds Israeli forces responsible for the well-being of those in the al-Shifa complex.

Hamas holds Israel and U.S. President Joe Biden accountable for the raid, denouncing it as a barbaric crime against a medical facility protected by the fourth Geneva Convention. United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths expressed his appall at Israel's actions, emphasizing that hospitals should not be battlegrounds. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also expressed deep concern about the impact on patients, medical staff, and civilians, calling for measures to prevent adverse consequences.