By WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military departed from Gaza's biggest hospital early Monday after a two-week assault. a two-week raid that involved the hospital and surrounding areas in intense fighting. Videos showed extensive destruction, with the main buildings of the hospital completely burned out.
The military has described the raid on Shifa Hospital as a significant victory in the nearly six-month war, claiming its troops killed 200 combatants in the operation. However, the assertion that all of them were combatants could not be verified.
But the attack occurred at a time of growing dissatisfaction in Israel, with thousands protesting Sunday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and urging him to take more action to bring back hostages held in Gaza. It was the largest anti-government protest since the beginning of the war. since the start of the war. Elsewhere, Syrian state media reported that an Israeli airstrike destroyed the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Damascus, causing casualties among those present.
The Iranian Arabic-language state television Al-Alam and pan-Arab television station Al-Mayadeen, which has reporters in Syria, reported that the strike resulted in the death of Iranian military adviser Gen. Ali Reza Zahdi, who led the elite Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria until 2016.
Palestinians are walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip near Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar)
Netanyahu accused Al Jazeera of harming Israeli security, being involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, and encouraging violence against Israel. The United States, Canada, and the European Union have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
another delivery of food aid
Meanwhile, arrived by sea as part of a new maritime route from the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus. One of the three boats was visible off the coast, and Cyprus’ foreign minister announced that they had obtained permission to unload. The exact delivery method was not yet clear. The fighting near Shifa shows that Hamas can still resist even in one of the hardest-hit areas. Israel claimed that it had largely dismantled Hamas in northern Gaza and withdrew thousands of troops at the end of last year.
The attack also devastated a hospital that had been the core of Gaza's health system, but doctors and staff had struggled to get it partially operational again after a previous Israeli attack in November.
Israel stated that it launched the recent attack on Shifa because senior Hamas members had regrouped there and were planning assaults. It identified six officials from Hamas' military wing who it claimed were killed inside the hospital during the attack. It also stated that it seized weapons and valuable intelligence.
The attack led to several days of intense fighting in the area around Shifa. Witnesses reported airstrikes, the bombing of homes, and soldiers searching through homes.
to compel residents to depart Once the soldiers left, hundreds of Palestinians came back to look for missing family members or assess the damage..
Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitta, a doctor from Britain who volunteered at Shifa during the start of the conflict, reported that Ahmed Maqadma and his mother, who were both doctors at Shifa, along with his cousin, were among the deceased.
The fate of the three had been unknown since they talked by phone with family as they tried to leave Shifa nearly a week ago and the line suddenly went dead. On Monday, relatives found their bodies with gunshot wounds about a block from the hospital, said Abu Sitta, who is in touch with the family.
Bassel al-Hilou recounted that the bodies of seven of his relatives were discovered in the remains of a house near Shifa, where they had sought refuge and which was destroyed by an airstrike.
“There was a massacre in my uncle’s house,” he told The Associated Press. “The situation was indescribable.”
Mohammed Mahdi, who returned to the area, described a scene of “complete destruction.” He said several buildings had been burned down and that he counted six bodies in the area, including two in the hospital courtyard, though it was not clear when they died.
Video footage circulating online showed the main buildings of Shifa charred and heavily damaged. Several witnesses said army bulldozers had plowed up a mass grave that had been dug in November in Shifa’s courtyard, leaving many bodies exposed.
According to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at least 21 patients died during the attack.
He also mentioned that over a hundred patients, including four children, 28 critical patients, and many with infected wounds and dehydration, were still inside the compound during the operation.
The military rejected allegations that its forces harmed any civilians within the compound. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals for military purposes and has conducted numerous raids on hospitals in the region.
Critics argue that the army put civilians at risk and severely damaged a health sector that was already struggling with wounded patients.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top military spokesperson, stated that Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group had established their main headquarters in the northern part of the hospital. He described several days of close-quarters combat and blamed Hamas for the destruction, claiming that some fighters barricaded themselves inside hospital wards while others fired mortar rounds at the compound.
Hagari mentioned that the troops arrested around 900 suspected fighters during the attack, including over 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, and seized over $3 million in various currencies, as well as weapons.
He mentioned that the military evacuated more than 200 of the estimated 300 to 350 patients and provided food, water, and medical supplies to the remaining patients. The military reported that two Israeli soldiers were killed in the attack.
The army had previously conducted a raid on Shifa in November, claiming that Hamas had a complex command and control center both inside and beneath the compound.
It exposed a tunnel that ran beneath the hospital leading to a few rooms, and weapons it claimed to have seized from inside medical buildings, though not to the extent alleged before that raid. The conflict started on Oct. 7
, when Hamas-led terrorists entered southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people captive.Israel reacted with an air, land and sea attack that has resulted in the deaths of at least 32,845 Palestinians, with about two-thirds being women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count. The Israeli military blames the civilian casualties on Palestinian fighters because they operate in densely populated residential areas.
The war has displaced the majority of the territory’s population and pushed a third of its residents
to the brink of famine. Northern Gaza, where Shifa is situated, has experienced extensive destruction and has been largely cut off since October, leading to widespread hunger.The aid ships that arrived Monday carried around 400 tons of food and supplies in a delivery arranged by the United Arab Emirates and the World Central Kitchen, the charity established by celebrity chef José Andrés. Last month, a ship delivered 200 tons of aid
the southern city of Rafah , where over 1.4 million people — more than half of Gaza’s population — have sought refuge.However, he is confronting increasing pressure from Israelis
who hold him responsible for the security failures of Oct. 7 and from some families of the hostages who blame him for the failure to reach an agreement despite several weeks of discussions mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. Allied countries, including primary supporter the United States, have cautioned him against an invasion of Rafah. Hamas and other militants are still thought to be holding around 100 hostages and the remains of 30 others, after releasing most of the rest during a cease-fire last November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Magdy reported from Cairo and Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel..
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The Israeli military has pulled out of Gaza’s largest hospital after a two-week raid. https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
