Israeli army kills 50 more Palestinians at Gaza hospital

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army said Thursday that its forces had killed 50 more Palestinians in and around Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, taking the death toll since Monday to 140.

A military statement said that hostile infrastructure and weapon caches were also located in the proximity of the hospital.

“Since the beginning of the operation at al-Shifa Hospital, over 140 terrorists have been killed,” it added.

The Israeli army raided the facility on Monday, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people.

Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi acknowledged on Wednesday that the hospital raid aims to “pressure” Hamas during indirect negotiations for a hostage swap deal in Qatar.

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 nearly 74,200 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war, now in its 167th day, 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, which in January issued an interim ruling ordering Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul