Israeli troops withdrew from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, after a siege that lasted for 14 days. The Israeli operation left the hospital in ruins, destroying buildings and leaving Palestinian bodies scattered around, according to CNN.
The Israeli military confirmed its withdrawal on Monday. It said it had completed a “precise operational activity” in the area, adding that its troops “killed militants in close encounters and seized intelligence documents throughout the hospital.”
Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesperson, Mahmoud Bassal, described the situation as “very bad”, saying that Al-Shifa is “completely destroyed and burned down.” He added that the hospital grounds are filled with injured and dead bodies.
Furthermore, there are ongoing efforts to recover bodies scattered around the hospital. So far, at least 300 bodies were found, but determining the exact number of people killed is difficult, because Israeli troops had buried bodies inside and around the complex, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense.
When this Israeli military operation began on March 18, there were around 3000 people inside Al-Shifa hospital, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. This raid was the second of its kind at the hospital, the largest in Gaza, the first one being in November.
Additionally, the hospital siege was condemned by several international organizations, as international law prohibits targeting hospitals in wartime. The World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in March that “hospitals should never be battlegrounds.”
Also, thousands of Palestinians have been seeking shelter in hospitals, which have become a main target for Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas. The war began when Hamas attacked Southern Israel on October 7, killing 1200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.
The Israeli operation in Gaza has so far killed more than 32,000 Palestinians and injured 75,000, most of them women and children, and left Palestinians in Gaza facing looming famine.
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