16 February,2024 07:36 AM IST | Rafah | Agencies
Smoke billowing over Khan Yunis following Israeli bombardment. Pic/AP
Israeli forces stormed the main hospital in southern Gaza on Thursday, hours after Israeli fire killed a patient and wounded six others inside the complex. The Israeli army said it was a limited operation seeking the remains of hostages taken by Hamas.
The raid came a day after the army sought to evacuate thousands of displaced people who had taken shelter at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis. The southern city has been the main target of Israel's offensive against Hamas in recent weeks. The military said it had "credible intelligence" that Hamas had held hostages at the hospital and that the remains of hostages might still be inside. Rear Adm.
Aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Taybeh, Lebanon. Pic/AP
Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a "precise and limited" operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients. Israel accuses Hamas of using hospitals and other civilian structures to shield its fighters. Gaza's Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said Israel had launched a "massive incursion" with heavy shooting that wounded many of the displaced people who had sheltered there.
Hezbollah promises retaliation as Israeli airstrikes kill 10
The civilian death toll from two Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon has risen to 10, Lebanese media reported Thursday, making the previous day the deadliest in more than four months of cross-border exchanges. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for Wednesday's strikes, which hit Nabatiyeh city and a village in Lebanon, hours after projectiles from Lebanon killed an Israeli soldier.
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