...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
City amid intelligence that senior Hamas
...a regional Iranian catspaw,...officials were in the area and using the hospital to plan and carry out terror activity.
In a statement overnight, the military says troops at the hospital were "briefed in advance regarding the importance of preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment" and that Arabic speakers were with the security forces to facilitate communication with patients and staff.
IDF doctors were also on hand, according to the announcement.
The patients and the medical teams were not ordered to evacuate the hospital but the military created pathways for civilians to leave the area, the IDF says.
Once the operation at the hospital is over, "the IDF will continue the humanitarian effort and provide food, water and additional supplies to the patients and civilians in the complex," the military says.
In an accompanying video message, IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the IDF is conducting a "high-precision operation in limited areas of Shifa Hospital, following concrete intelligence that demanded immediate action."
"We know that senior Hamas
He says forces have undergone "specified training to prepare them for the sensitive environment and the complex scenarios they may encounter" at the hospital.
"We seek no harm to the civilians Hamas is hiding behind," he says, adding that the IDF will conduct its operation "with caution and care while ensuring that the hospital continues its important functions."
Hagari says IDF doctors were with the troops "to assist those in need."
"We call upon all Hamas
The IDF has repeatedly accused Hamas of deliberately operating from civilian areas, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and shelters.
Israel has presented evidence to back up long-standing allegations that Hamas used al-Shifa Hospital as a major operational hub and command center and that the hospital sat atop tunnels housing headquarters for Hamas fighters using patients as shields. The US has previously corroborated the evidence presented by Israel.
Last month, the New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported that a tunnel underneath al-Shifa was used extensively by Hamas for military operations and is nearly twice as long as the IDF had previously revealed.
IDF says terrorists opened fire on troops at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City
[IsraelTimes] Security forces operating at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City overnight came under fire by terrorists “from within the hospital compound,” the IDF and the Shin Bet say in a statement.
Israeli security forces “returned fire and hit the terrorists,” the statement says.
Earlier, the IDF sent out an announcement that an operation at the hospital was underway amid “concrete intelligence” that Hamas operatives had regrouped at the hospital and were planning terror activity
“The IDF and the Shin Bet are now working in a targeted manner to thwart terror [activity] and arrest terrorists in the area of the Al-Shifa hospital, following intelligence information indicating the presence of terrorists in the hospital and the use of the hospital’s infrastructure to carry out terrorist acts,” the two organizations say in the statement
“As part of the activity, during the encirclement, terrorists opened fire from within the hospital compound at our forces, who returned fire and hit the terrorists. Our forces continue to operate in the area of the hospital,” the announcement reads.
Witnesses in Gaza City told AFP they saw tanks surround the hospital site.
Related:
Al-Shifa hospital: 2024-02-14 NY Times: Tunnel under Al-Shifa Hospital used by Hamas ‘for cover, weapons storage’
Al-Shifa hospital: 2023-11-25 First hostage release brings fresh proof that Hamas must be destroyed
Al-Shifa hospital: 2023-11-19 Summary of Gaza war: IDF steps up Gaza airstrikes; 30 premature babies evacuated from Shifa Hospital
Al-Shifa hospital: 2024-02-14 NY Times: Tunnel under Al-Shifa Hospital used by Hamas ‘for cover, weapons storage’
Al-Shifa hospital: 2023-11-25 First hostage release brings fresh proof that Hamas must be destroyed
Al-Shifa hospital: 2023-11-19 Summary of Gaza war: IDF steps up Gaza airstrikes; 30 premature babies evacuated from Shifa Hospital