In a significant escalation of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the Israeli military conducted an overnight raid on Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest medical facility in the territory, early Monday morning. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the operation aimed to "thwart terrorist activity" and track down senior Hamas terrorists allegedly hiding inside the building, where displaced civilians have taken shelter.
According to the IDF, troops came under fire from hospital buildings during the raid, prompting them to respond with live fire. The military claimed that several Hamas terrorists were killed and around 80 people were detained. "We know that senior Hamas terrorists have regrouped inside al-Shifa hospital and are using it to command attacks against Israel," said IDF chief spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
However, the Gaza Ministry of Health strongly rejected the Israeli military's claims, calling the raid a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law." The ministry reported that a fire broke out at the gate of the Al-Shifa medical complex, trapping and suffocating displaced women and children. "Communications were cut off, and the displaced people were trapped inside the specialized surgery building and in the emergency reception in Building 8," the ministry stated.
Eyewitnesses described heavy exchanges of fire around the site and a state of panic inside the hospital. Dr. Amer Jedbeh, a surgical resident, told the BBC that the electricity had been cut, preventing medical staff from properly treating patients. "A shell hit our building on the first floor, injuring several people. One man died - we could not save him. We are working only with first aid, essentially, we cannot operate because there is no electricity or water," he said.
The raid on Al-Shifa Hospital is not an isolated incident, as Israeli forces have been criticized for previous raids on Gaza's health facilities during the five-month war with Hamas. The conflict began after Hamas gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7 and took 253 other people hostage. Since then, more than 31,700 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry.
The IDF said it found tunnels used by Hamas underneath Al-Shifa when it first raided the hospital in November and claimed to have discovered weapons and medication intended for hostages at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis during a February operation. However, doctors at Nasser Hospital told the BBC they were detained, blindfolded, and beaten during the raid, prompting the UK to call for "answers from the Israelis."
Melanie Ward, CEO of the British charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), expressed grave concern about the safety of patients and medics at Al-Shifa Hospital. "This is part of a pattern of systematically dismantling the health system in Gaza," she told the BBC. "There's only now a quarter of primary healthcare facilities functioning in Gaza. There's no longer a single fully functioning hospital."
The Gaza Ministry of Health held the Israeli occupation responsible for the lives of medical staff, patients, and displaced people inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex. The IDF dropped flyers signed by the military urging civilians to evacuate the area, calling it a "dangerous combat zone" and directing them to a designated humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.
