Israel launches new attack on Gaza's al-Shifa hospital

(Patria) - Israeli forces launched an overnight attack on the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, with reports of tanks and heavy fire at the facility. A spokesman for the Israeli forces said the IDF was carrying out a "high-precision operation in limited areas" of the hospital, the BBC reported.

The IDF stated that "senior Hamas terrorists had regrouped" inside the hospital and were using it to launch attacks.

Witnesses described a state of panic inside the complex in Gaza City. In a recorded conversation with his brother posted on a WhatsApp group, one man said: "Tanks are surrounding us. We are hiding inside tents. We can hear tank fire near the complex."

In a voice message sent to journalists from the hospital, Muhammad Al-Sayyid said:

"Soldiers here inside the complex are dead and wounded, and soldiers have arrested some young men. The situation is catastrophic."

The IDF did not publicly signal in advance that it planned to launch a new operation in al-Shifa.
In a video message released in the morning hours, the IDF's chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the Israeli military was responding to "specific intelligence that required urgent action." He said the hospital would be able to continue operating during the raid and told patients and staff they did not need to evacuate.

Displaced persons sheltering in the complex would be able to leave the hospital via evacuation, he said, before calling on Hamas to "surrender immediately."

In a statement from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, the operation was described as a "flagrant violation of international humanitarian law."

Hundreds of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in the hospital, which Israeli forces had raided earlier in the conflict. Before the conflict, al-Shifa hospital was the largest medical facility in Gaza.