According to the army, Israeli soldiers have advanced to the Shifa Hospital in Gaza, although there are probably 2,000 patients and people seeking protection there. How Israel justifies military action.
Israeli soldiers are due to enter on Tuesday evening Shifa Hospital may have been invaded. Based on intelligence information, “a precise and targeted operation” is underway in a specific area of the clinic, the army announced early Wednesday morning. Medical teams and Arabic-speaking military personnel will be there.
Why is Shifa Hospital important to Israel?
Israel suspects a Hamas command center under the largest clinic complex in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Organization denies this.
Is Israel alone in this assessment?
No. The USA also assumes that Hamas is… Gaza Strip Hospitals used for military purposes. National Security Council communications director John Kirby said: “Hamas and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are using some hospitals in the Gaza Strip – including the Shifa Clinic – and tunnels beneath them to conceal and advance their military operations and hostages “to hold on to”.
What is the situation like at and in the clinic?
The BBC quoted an eyewitness at the clinic who reported six tanks and more than a hundred soldiers on the hospital grounds. Some were masked and shouted in Arabic: “Don’t move, don’t move!” Smoke bombs were also used.
War in the Middle East
A hospital on the verge of collapse: That’s how bad things are at the embattled Schifa Clinic
A clinic doctor, Ahmed Muchallalati, told the Washington Post about hours of gunfire and explosions around the hospital. He saw Israeli tanks near the building complex. This information could not be independently verified in the morning.
The Israeli army said there were no tensions between the troops and patients or staff during the invasion of the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip.
How many people are in Shifa Hospital?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of Monday there were more than 2,000 people in the Shifa clinic in the north of the sealed-off coastal strip, including probably more than 600 patients and around 1,500 displaced people. The information is based on estimates from the local Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas. Eyewitnesses confirmed the numbers.
How does Israel justify attacking a hospital?
“Hamas’ continued military use of Shifa Hospital will result in it losing its special protection under international law,” said army spokesman Daniel Hagari. “We are forced to act carefully and precisely against Hamas’ military infrastructure in the hospitals.” Actually allowed Hospitals and other civilian facilities cannot be used for military purposes in accordance with international law.
Israeli ground troops took part in their night-time operation against Hamas-Terrorists in ShifaThe hospital said it also brought incubators, baby food and medical supplies to the clinic.
Is there criticism of the use?
Yes. The UN and the Red Cross are extremely concerned about the safety of patients, refugees and medical staff in the clinic. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, was “deeply disturbed” by the army’s deployment on Wednesday, as he wrote on the online service X (formerly Twitter). The WHO lost contact with the medical staff at the clinic again.
UN emergency aid coordinator Martin Griffiths also appeared on the online service “Hospitals are not a battlefield,” he explained. The protection of newborns, patients, medical personnel and all civilians must be a priority.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) made a similar statement. In a statement sent to the AFP news agency in Geneva, the Red Cross stressed that “all measures” must be taken to avoid any consequences for the sick, civilians and medical personnel.
Is there any information about what the operation achieved?
Israeli soldiers reportedly found weapons from the Islamist Hamas during the hours-long operation at the hospital. However, there was initially no indication that hostages were being held in the clinic in the city of Gaza, as Israeli media reported, citing the army. However, Israel’s armed forces hoped to find information in the clinic complex about the whereabouts of the hostages kidnapped from Israel in the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
