GAZA, Nov 16 (NNN-WAFA) – Dozens of the Israeli armed forces, yesterday, carried out a raid at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, amid heavy gunfire, according to a senior medical official.
In a press statement, Monir al-Bursh, director-general of the pharmaceutical department, at the Gaza Health Ministry, said, “The Israeli army informed the hospital in a phone call that the raid was being carried out, demanding that people not approach windows, balconies or doors.”
For its part, the Israeli army said that, it was carrying out a precise operation against Hamas in a specific area inside Al-Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational need.
Ashraf al-Qedra, the spokesman of the health ministry, said, “There is nothing that would require shooting inside the hospital because there is no form of resistance there, and what the occupation is doing constitutes terrorism for those in the complex.”
About 1,500 staff members and 7,000 displaced people are currently stuck in the hospital, depending on capacity, according to al-Qedra.
The raid into Shifa sparked condemnation from Jordan and the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority (PA), which called it a violation of international law. U.N. aid chief, Martin Griffiths, said, he was “appalled” by the raid, saying the protection of civilians “must override all other concerns.”
Israeli tanks surrounded several hospitals in Gaza City over the past few days, claiming that, they contain tunnels that constitute a base used by Hamas to shelter its leadership, in addition to leading military operations against the Israeli army.
Both Hamas and the health ministry in Gaza denied Israel’s accusations, considering them “an attempt to mislead and incite in preparation for the destruction of hospitals and the killings of patients.”– NNN-WAFA
