Israeli forces have launched a major raid at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, with reports of heavy gunfire from the complex and its surroundings.
Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, said early on Monday that troops were “conducting a high-precision operation in limited areas of Shifa hospital based on … intelligence information indicating the use of the hospital by senior Hamas terrorists to command attacks”.
Gaza’s health ministry said a fire broke out at the entrance of the complex, causing cases of suffocation among displaced women and children in the hospital.
It said communication had been cut off, with people trapped inside the surgery and emergency units of one of the buildings.
“There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it’s impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows,” the ministry said, accusing Israeli forces of “another crime against health institutions”.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they were fired upon when they entered the medical compound. “The troops responded with live fire and hits were identified. Our troops are continuing to operate in the area of the hospital,” it added.
A raid in November on the same hospital – Gaza’s largest – by Israeli forces drew widespread international condemnation and the new operation underlines the difficulties faced by Israel in Gaza.
Since February, the IDF has been forced to fight in parts of the territory that were thought to have been cleared of Hamas militants after fierce battles last year.
Hagari said there was no need for patients or medical staff to evacuate Shifa but “there will be a passageway for civilians to exit the hospital.”
Israeli troops had come under fire as they encircled the complex, he said.
“The troops responded with live fire and hits were identified. Our troops are continuing to operate in the area of the hospital,” Hagari said
The ongoing fighting and the devastation in northern Gaza has forced hundreds of Palestinians to seek shelter at Shifa, living in makeshift tents in its grounds.
Reports on social media reports described scenes of panic at the hospital and unverified footage showed people attempting to flee along a street in the dark.
Witnesses in Gaza City told AFP the al-Rimal neighbourhood, where al-Shifa is located, had been hit by airstrikes. They also said tanks had surrounded the complex.
Israel has raided a number of hospitals in Gaza during its military campaign launched after the surprise attack by Hamas into southern Israel in which the organisation killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and seized about 250 hostages.
The intensity of the offensive has eased somewhat in recent weeks but the death toll continues to rise. Israel’s campaign against Hamas has killed at least 31,645 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry.
Last week the UK called for an investigation into Israel’s February raid on Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, after a report that medical staff faced violent and humiliating treatment in detention after the attack.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields by running military operations from hospitals and other medical centres. The militant group denies these claims.
After its November raid on Al-Shifa, the Israeli military said it had found weapons and military equipment hidden there as well as a 55-metre tunnel in the basement. The IDF shared footage that it said proved hostages had been held there, which Hamas also denied.
Evidence produced by the IDF did not appear to substantiate claims made before the raid that Hamas had built a well-equipped command centre in multiple connected bunkers beneath the hospital.
Aid agencies have been working to restore services at Shifa for several weeks, but have found it difficult to reach northern Gaza to bring in equipment and supplies.
The raid comes amid hopes that a ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel can be agreed in a new round of talks set to start within days.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said no amount of international pressure would stop Israel from realising all of its war aims, amid fears of an impending offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza which is now home to more than a million displaced from elsewhere in the territory.
“On the diplomatic front, until now we have succeeded in allowing our forces to fight in an unprecedented manner for five full months. However, it is no secret that the international pressure is increasing,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
“Those who say that the action in Rafah will not occur are those who also said that we would not enter Gaza, or act in Shifa or in Khan Younis, and that we would not resume the fighting after the pause [in hostilities in November].”
