Israel says it killed 90 gunmen at Al Shifa hospital; Gaza says those killed were patients

JERUSALEM/CAIRO — Israel's military said on Wednesday it had killed around 90 gunmen and arrested 160 in a raid on Gaza's Al Shifa hospital, an allegation the Islamist Hamas group denied.

Al Shifa, the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital before the war, is now one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in the north of the territory, and had also been housing displaced civilians.

"Over the past day, the troops have eliminated terrorists and located weapons in the hospital area, while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment," the military said in a statement.

It also published the names and photographs of two Israeli soldiers killed in the operation.

Israel's raid at the hospital began in the early hours of Monday. The military, which published videos it says were of weapons stashes inside the facility, said it had sent in special forces supported by infantry and tanks, based on intelligence that the hospital was again being used by gunmen.

Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of Gaza's Hamas-run government media office, said all of those killed had been wounded patients and displaced persons inside the hospital.

"The Israeli occupation army practices lying and deception in spreading its narrative as part of justifying its continuous and law-breaking crimes, which violate international law, international humanitarian law," he said.

Reuters was unable to verify either account.

Israel faced fierce criticism last November when troops first raided Al Shifa hospital. The troops uncovered tunnels there, which they said had been used as command and control centers by Hamas. Hamas and medical staff deny that the hospital is used for military purposes or to shelter fighters.

“What happens in Al Shifa Hospital is a war crime and is part of the war of genocide conducted by the Israeli occupation,” said senior Hamas official Basem Naim, who has previously served as a health minister. — Reuters