Israel admits attacking Al-Shifa Hospital but is silent over Palestinian casualties

By Zain Khalil

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi admitted Wednesday that an operation carried out by his forces in the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City aimed to “pressure” Hamas during ongoing negotiations in Qatar to reach a hostage swap deal.

Halevi made the televised statement in the evening during an assessment of the situation with military officials from inside the Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Earlier, Scores of Palestinians were killed and injured on Wednesday in intense Israeli army shelling near the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City as they were breaking their fast on the 10th day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The artillery bombardment resulted in widespread fires in the areas, killing and injuring dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, and forcing hundreds to flee to eastern Gaza City neighborhoods such as Tuffah, Zeitoun, Shejaiya, and Sabra, an Anadolu correspondent reported.

However, in his statement, the Israeli army chief did not go into detail about the killings and injuries of Palestinians.

“So far, the results are good, but look, we are targeting senior Hamas officials: Marwan Issa (a Hamas leader who Israel claimed was assassinated in an airstrike in the middle of the Gaza Strip), and arresting senior officials. This is very important to pressure Hamas, very important to pressure negotiations as well,” Halevi claimed.

He added, “We are here (at Al-Shifa Hospital) for two things: to cause serious harm to Hamas and dismantle it, kill its military leadership, and target its field leadership and activists. We are also here to pressure (Hamas) in the negotiations.”

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue in Doha, through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, and the US, to reach a cease-fire and a hostage swap deal, amid Israel's devastating attacks on Gaza that continued for six months.

Halevi said, “We came here to arrest many activists, especially senior officials, and kill those who fight. We prefer detainees; they are important assets in investigations, and we kill those who fight.

“We talked about the issue of sudden attack, and perhaps here is the best example so far. We suddenly reached the place that Hamas (had) returned to and turned it into a center of activity, leadership, and control, and used it to return to the experience of ruling in the northern Gaza Strip.”

As of 1900GMT, Hamas had not commented on Halevi's statements.

Since Monday morning, an Israeli army force has continued to raid the medical complex, despite the presence of thousands of patients, wounded, and displaced people inside, killing dozens and detaining hundreds of Palestinians until Wednesday.

This is the second time Israeli forces have stormed the complex since the start of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. They raided it on Nov. 16 last year after besieging it for a week and then withdrew after eight days, destroying its courtyards, parts of its buildings, and medical equipment, as well as the power generator.

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.

Nearly 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and more than 74,000 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 is 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 Rania Abu Shamala