The military units “completed their precise operational activities in the area of Al-Shifa Hospital and left the area of the hospital,” the Israeli army said in a statement. It also said that “terrorists were killed” in “encounters” at the clinic premises.
The Israeli army confirmed a report by French news agency AFP, saying Israeli tanks and troops were withdrawing from the clinic site on Monday morning. Located in Gaza City, this hospital is the largest in the entire Gaza Strip.
The building is badly damaged
The health ministry in the Islamist Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said Israel had withdrawn tanks and vehicles. Dozens of bodies were found in the hospital or on the clinic's premises and there was extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure.
A doctor from the hospital said about 20 bodies had been recovered, some of them running near vehicles, AFP reported.
Elimination of 200 terrorists
The Israeli army launched a major operation on March 18 in a hospital compound in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to Israeli sources, it was directed against high-ranking members of Hamas in the compound; “Around 200 terrorists were killed,” it said later.
Footage released alongside reports from the Israeli military showed cash and weapons seized at the hospital compound allegedly used by Hamas and the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad. Israel accuses Hamas of setting up a command center where the hospital is located. The US government accepted this assessment in November.
Hospitals are not functioning
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and using civilian facilities such as hospitals and schools for its infrastructure, including command centers and weapons depots. Hamas has denied this.
The Israeli Armed Forces had already carried out an operation at Al-Shifa clinic in November. Like the previous song, it also received critical acclaim internationally. After months of Israeli attacks as a result of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, the hospital infrastructure in the entire Gaza Strip is now in a state of disrepair and lacks basic medical facilities.
The troops were ordered to be “alert”.
At the start of the operation on March 18, the Israeli side said the army was carrying out a “precision” operation on the clinic compound because senior Hamas members there suspected their own troops had been instructed to proceed “carefully”. Measures to prevent harm to patients, the public, medical personnel and medical equipment.
The army said neither patients nor medical staff were forced to leave the hospital. Actions will continue in accordance with international law against Hamas, which systematically exploits hospitals and civilian infrastructure. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said almost two weeks ago that Hamas had regrouped at the hospital and was using it to command attacks against Israel.
