The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday that roughly they arrested about 100 people during their raid of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.
It is at least the second time the IDF raided a hospital, following its raid of Al Shifa Hospital in November 2023. In that case, tunnels were discovered under the hospital, which is congruent with Hamas strategy, per Israeli and U.S. officials. Hamas claimed to have built more than 300 miles of tunnels in 2021 underneath cities, hospitals, and schools in Gaza.
Those arrested were “suspected of terrorist activity,” according to the IDF, including over 20 with ties to the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 civilians in Israel. Nasser Hospital first became the target of Israeli strikes in December on suspicions of ties to Hamas.
Hospital staff members were “performing their professional humanitarian duty in treating the wounded and sick,” according to a statement from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry on Saturday.
Khan Younis is further south in Gaza than its northern companion Al Shifa. The raid comes as Rafah, a city even further south, is facing threats of violence.
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President Joe Biden has shared his disagreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to begin strikes in Rafah, where many Palestinians relocated to avoid violence. Biden discouraged Israel from initiating a “massive land invasion” there until there was a plan to evacuate civilians and remaining hostages.
More than 27,000 Palestinians have died in the conflict with Israel since Oct. 7, per the Gaza Health Ministry. That is a figure that does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Hamas still holds 130 hostages in Gaza.
