This Monday, March 18, Israeli troops launched a new raid against the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in the north of the Gaza Strip. The offensive was confirmed by the Army as a “precise operation” against what it claims are senior Hamas commanders sheltering in place. For its part, the enclave's Ministry of Health reported that the armed action left multiple victims, hundreds trapped, and also caused a fire. In the midst of the intensification of the assaults, the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu aims for a provisional truce. Israel will offer a six-week truce in exchange for 40 hostages held by the Islamist group, according to an official from the Jewish-majority state.
Explosions and shots. Al Shifa hospital, the main hospital in northern Gaza, again under fire.
Early this Monday, March 18, the Israeli Army raided the medical center again, in what it described as “a high-precision operation” against alleged Hamas militants hiding there.
There are victims, including dead and injured
In the middle of the armed operation, a fire broke out at the entrance to the medical facility, which generated cases of asphyxiation among women and children who are taking refuge in the hospital complex, indicated the enclave's Ministry of Health.
“There are victims, including dead and wounded, and it is impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and the attacks against anyone who approaches the windows,” said the Health Ministry, which accused the Israeli forces of “another crime against health institutions.”
Civilians at the scene said that initially the Israeli military, backed by tanks and artillery, surrounded the hospital complex while snipers targeted people inside the medical center.
Troops later entered Al-Shifa, raided several buildings and detained dozens of people, witnesses added.
In addition, communication was lost at the scene and many were trapped in the surgery and emergency units of one of the hospital buildings, the local Ministry of Health said.
“We are trapped (…) They shoot at anything that moves. The doctors and ambulances cannot move,” said Abdel-Hady Sayed, who has been taking refuge in the medical center for more than three months.
Although the hospital suffered serious damage in another Army raid last November, it has been operating partially since then and also serves as a refuge center for thousands of Gazans who remain in the north of the enclave. According to the Ministry of Health, around 30,000 people are staying there, including patients, medical staff and families who have fled their homes in search of safety.
“Suddenly, we started hearing sounds of explosions, several shellings, and soon the tanks started rolling, coming from the western highway and heading towards Al-Shifa, then the sounds of gunshots and explosions increased,” described Mohammad Ali, a father of two children, who lives approximately one kilometer from the hospital, interviewed by the Reuters news agency.
“High precision operation”: the Israeli Army's version of its offensive on the Al-Shifa hospital
The military institution insists that this is an armed action specifically against members of Hamas “based on intelligence information indicating the use of the hospital by senior terrorists” of the movement that controls Gaza.
The Army published a black and white aerial video of what it claims are militants from the Islamist group shooting at its forces from inside the medical center.
The Reuters news agency reported that it was able to confirm the location of the Al-Shifa hospital compound in part of the video (from 0:19 to 0:38) through buildings, structures and roads that can be seen in the images and that coincide with portraits of satellite of the area. However, it clarifies that it has not been possible to independently verify the date on which this video was recorded.
🔴Watch: Fighting at Shifa hospital, In the past few hours, IDF fighters observed shots being fired at them from several buildings in the hospital. They exchanged fire and successfully targeted several terrorists
📹-IDF Spokesperson's Unit pic.twitter.com/zYgSI2uOEM
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) March 18, 2024
The Israel Defense Forces claimed that soldiers who entered the compound were shot. “The troops responded with live fire and impacts were identified. “Our troops continue to operate in the hospital area,” the institution said in a statement.
Likewise, the Army released a video of a rocket-propelled grenade hitting an armored vehicle. Authorities in the Jewish-majority state added that their forces detained around 80 people during the operation.
Israeli forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said patients and medical staff could remain in the medical complex and that safe passage was available for civilians who wanted to leave the site.
Israel to offer six-week truce in exchange for 40 hostages
Although the attacks on the Palestinian enclave increase, the Israeli Government plans negotiations in Qatar for a possible new truce between the parties.
An official from Benjamin Netanyahu's government, quoted by Reuters, assured that his country will send a high-level delegation to Qatar this Monday led by the head of the Mossad, David Barnea, to hold indirect talks with Hamas representatives, through the mediating countries.
The source said the goal is to secure a six-week truce in Gaza, under which Palestinian militants should release 40 hostages, of the nearly 100 that Israel believes are still held by Hamas.
If an agreement is reached in this regard, it would only be a provisional action, despite the fact that Hamas previously delivered a truce proposal that included a path for the total withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of the ongoing war. That request was rejected by Netanyahu, who described it as “unrealistic.”
Israel maintains its stated goal of “eliminating” Hamas. In fact, on Sunday, March 17, The Israeli premier confirmed that his troops will carry out a full-fledged raid on Rafah, in the extreme south of Gaza. An announced action that raises the concerns of the international community, including Israel's great ally, the United States, as it is the area where most of the internally displaced inhabitants take refuge, which would drastically increase the possibility of fatalities.
With Reuters and AP
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