After 14 days of Besieging And Attacking Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Israeli forces Have Withdrawn, Leaving Total Destruction
The Israeli military had already raided Al-Shifa in November, claiming that it was being used as an “operational command center” by Hamas.
After 14 days of besieging and attacking Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, Israeli forces have finally withdrawn, leaving it in total destruction and completely burned.
Photos of the aftermath on Monday April 1st showed bodies scattered in and around the remains of the hospital.
Some of the bodies appeared to have their hands and feet tied while others had been crushed by tanks or bulldozers.
Medical crews found at least 300 bodies, many of them decomposed, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
Some 3,000 Palestinians including patients, civilians and medical staff had been sheltering inside Al-Shifa, which used to be Gaza’s biggest hospital but is now out of service.
The Israeli military had already raided Al-Shifa in November, claiming that it was being used as an “operational command center” by Hamas.
However, four months later, it still has failed to provide concrete evidence to support its claim.
On March 18, the Israeli military issued a statement saying it was performing a “precise operation” at Al-Shifa, claiming that Hamas had “regrouped” inside and was “using it to command attacks against Israel”.
Israeli forces then stormed the hospital with tanks and guns, arresting and killing hundreds of people.
Photos and videos on social media showed Israeli forces blindfolded and kidnapped dozens of civilians, including doctors and nurses.
Human rights group Euro-Med Monitor said on March 27 that Israeli forces had executed 13 children, aged between 4 and 16, by direct shooting them in and near Al-Shifa during the siege.
Several Palestinian outlets reported that Dr. Mohammad Al-Nunu was killed for refusing to leave his patients and the injured behind.
Israeli forces also arrested several journalists covering its attack, with an unknown number still missing.
Euro-Med Monitor also documented several incidents of the Israeli military using Palestinian civilians as human shields to protect its forces.
Israel’s military said on April 1st that the 200 Palestinians it killed were militants and that it had arrested 900 suspected militants.
