Fighting around Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, 170 gunmen killed

The Hamas militant group said its forces engaged in fighting with the Israeli army in the vicinity of Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, while insisting that it had not deployed forces inside the hospital.

Smoke rises during an Israeli raid on Al Shifa hospital and the surrounding area. Photo: Reuters

Since dawn on March 18, the Israeli army has carried out an attack on Al Shifa hospital and searched inside the area, where the army believes there are tunnels used by Hamas as bases or shelters for militants.

The Israeli military claims to have minimized harm to civilians, patients and medical staff there, while providing them with food, water and adequate health care.

Meanwhile, Gaza health authorities said the attack on Al Shifa hospital left five Palestinian patients dead after being left without care, food and water for six days. The condition of other patients is also deteriorating.

Al Shifa is currently one of the few partially functioning health care facilities in northern Gaza and is also home to displaced civilians.

Residents living nearby said Israeli forces blew up dozens of houses and apartments in the streets around the hospital and flattened the roads. They said the nearby private Al-Helo hospital was also attacked by the army.

The Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israeli tanks attacked several buildings at Al Shifa hospital and set fire to a surgical ward, and that about 240 patients, their relatives and dozens of medical staff were detained.

The Israeli military said more than 350 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants have been detained in hospitals so far and a total of 800 have been questioned.

Ngoc Anh (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/giao-tranh-ac-liet-quanh-benh-vien-o-gaza-israel-noi-tieu-diet-170-chien-binh-hamas-post288981.html