Hamas accuses Israel of executing civilians around Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital

By Anadolu staff

ISTANBUL (AA) — Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Friday accused Israeli forces of executing civilians and deliberately running over wounded in areas surrounding the Al-Shifa Hospital in western Gaza City.

"Targeting innocents and running over of the wounded with tanks are complete war crimes," the group said in a statement on Telegram.

"The horrifying picture of atrocities in the surroundings of the hospital, including executions and deliberately running over the wounded with tanks, is starkly revealed," the statement added.

The movement said these "crimes are happening in full view of the international community, which silently watches a complete collapse of the legal and ethical system in the world."

Since early Monday, the Israeli army has been carrying out an offensive on Al-Shifa Hospital and its surroundings, jeopardizing the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians in and around the hospital.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,200 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul