The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has launched a “targeted” operation against Hamas at Gaza City’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, early Wednesday morning amid reports that the hospital and other medical centers are being utilized for terror operations and holding hostages.
The IDF issued a statement regarding its raid of the Al-Shifa Hospital, assuring that its forces “have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians.”
🔴 Operational Update:
IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational necessity.The IDF is conducting a ground operation in Gaza to defeat Hamas and…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 15, 2023
The statement added: “The operation was preceded by an effort to evacuate the hospital from the sick and homeless and even opened a special passageway from it. The hospital management was informed ahead of time about the (IDF) entrance to the complex… Incubators, medical equipment, and baby food are expected to be transferred to the hospital.”
In an interview with CNN, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. (res.) Peter Lerner said its forces are “not overrunning” the hospital, explaining that soldiers are undertaking a “precise and targeted operation against a specific location… in order to defeat Hamas and perhaps rescue hostages.”
“Our goal is to bring [the hostages] home. Our goal is to seek out Hamas wherever they are hiding,” Lerner said.
11.14.23 8:10 PM EST Anderson Cooper @andersoncooper on @AC360 w/ @IDF Spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner (ret ) @LTCPeterLerner (5:39) pic.twitter.com/kg60kzqoQq
— Jeff Storobinsky (@jeffstorobinsky) November 15, 2023
Earlier Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the U.S. possessed intelligence that the hospital was being utilized to run terrorist activities and hold captives, which were taken during Hamas’s unprecedented attack on October 7th, which killed roughly 1,200 people.
White House Spokesman John Kirby: “Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad use some hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including al-Shifa, and tunnels underneath them, to conceal and to support their military operations, and to hold hostages.” pic.twitter.com/rHXLnEB54p
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) November 14, 2023
“We have information that confirms that Hamas is using that particular hospital for a command and control mode” Kirby said. “That is a war crime.”
Meanwhile, Israel forces have pushed farther into Gaza, taking buildings belonging to the Hamas-led local government, including its Parliament building.
On Monday, images appeared online purporting to show Israeli soldiers holding the Israeli flag inside the Parliament.
Additionally, the Israeli military claims to have discovered an underground tunnel complex under what they characterize as a Hamas headquarters in Gaza.
The Israeli military also seized the Rantisi hospital, publishing a video of IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari, showing seized weapons and claiming hostages were held in the facility.
The UPI contributed to this report.
