IDF: carrying out precise, targetted ops against Hamas in Al-Shifa hospital

Representative Image/ AFP

Israel Defence Forces on Wednesday said they are carrying out precise, targetted operations in a specific region in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, reported news agency ANI. According to the report, the operation is being carried out based on intelligence information and alleged operational necessity.

Reportedly, the IDF is conducting ground operations in Gaza to defeat Hamas and rescue their hostages. The Israeli authorities also claimed that they were at war with Hamas and not with the civilians.

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The IDF in their official statement had said, "Forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields."

According to the report, in recent weeks, IDF had publicly warned Hamas time and again that their continued use of Shifa Hospital is jeopardising the protected status of the structure under international law and that it has enabled ample time for them to stop the "unlawful" abuse of the hospital.

"Yesterday, the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, it did not," the IDF further told in their statement.

Additionally, the IDF carried out a large-scale hospital evacuation and kept lines of communication open with the administration, the report stated. They also called upon Hamas "terrorists" present in the building to "surrender".

The Israeli Defence Forces, on Tuesday, announced that it was coordinating the transfer of incubators from Israel to hospitals in the Gaza Strip, according to a report in Times of Israel. Meanwhile, Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza City have been struggling with fewer supplies and an increase in patient deaths due to the war which pressured Israel to put more effort into protecting Gaza civilians caught in the crossfire.

Reportedly, the IDF has been closing Shifa Hospital in Gaza since, according to Jerusalem, is Hamas's main operations centre.

Furthermore, the IDF shared a video of the Coordination of Government Activities in Territories (COGAT) spokesperson saying the war they have waged is against Hamas and not Gaza's public.

The spokesperson was quoted saying that Shifa Hospital's paediatric ward needed assistance and that Israel has made a formal offer to health officials in Gaza to assist the ward of the hospital. "Extensive efforts are underway to ensure that these incubators can reach babies in Gaza without delay," ANI report quoted her as saying.

The IDF moreover said in its post that Israel is doing all it can to minimise the harm to civilians and facilitate the transfer of essentials like food, and medical supplies.

The Israeli troops of the Seventh Armoured Brigade and Golani Infantry Brigade captured several Hamas governmental buildings in the Gaza neighbourhoods of Sheikh Ijlin and Rimal, the report stated.

Among the sites captured by the troops are the Hamas parliament, its government complex, and the police headquarters, ANI stated.

With ANI inputs