Israeli commander killed in raid on northern Gaza hospital, army says

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Israeli military commander was killed in the northern Gaza Strip, the army said on Tuesday.

Sebastian Haion, 51, a commander in the 401st Armored Brigade chief’s forward command team, was killed during an Israeli raid on Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, a military statement said.

His death brought the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict to 594 since Oct. 7, 2023, according to military figures.

The Israeli army on Monday stormed Al-Shifa Hospital, which houses thousands of ill and wounded patients, as well as displaced people.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, around 80 Palestinians were detained from the facility.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 74,000 others 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 ICJ. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar