Gaza’s largest
hospital Al-Shifa has been the focal point for the Israeli military after it
was claimed that the complex has a Hamas command chamber located underneath
thousands of ailing and sheltering civilians.
Seasoned troops of Israel Defence Forces or IDF, in
their over two weeks-long ground incursions into the captured enclave, have
entered the Shifa hospital.
The Israeli military said its troops were carrying out
‘a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area’ of the
facility.
Meanwhile, Hamas accused US President Joe Biden of
being ‘wholly responsible’ for the Israeli Army operation at Shifa hospital.
Israeli troops stormed the Al-Shifa hospital after
keeping it surrounded for almost a day.
According to a Hamas official, as cited by AFP, “dozens
of soldiers and commandos inside the emergency and reception buildings.” The
IDF however claimed that it is ‘not overrunning’ the hospital.
Thousands of displaced civilians, patients and medical
staff are believed to be stranded inside the hospital complex. AFP reported
that invasive medical procedures are being carried out without anaesthetic amid
dearth of essentials including food, water and medicines.
IDF also claimed that ‘medical teams and Arabic
speakers’ are among the troops that entered the hospital.
They underwent specified training to prepare for this
complex and sensitive environment, IDF said, adding they have the intent that ‘no
harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields’.
Hamas denounced the White House’s claim that the
militant group is using Al-Shifa for military ends. “The adoption by the White
House and the Pentagon of the occupation’s false claim that the resistance is
using the Al-Shifa medical complex for military ends has given the green light
to the occupation to commit more massacres against civilians,” it said in a
statement.
Benjamin Netanyahu and his Canadian counterpart Justin
Trudeau are at loggerhead over Israel’s offensive against Hamas.
“I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum
restraint. The world is watching, on TV, on social media – we’re hearing the
testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their
parents,” the Canadian PM said earlier.
To which, Netanyahu said, “It is not Israel that is
deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred
civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust.”
Israeli PM and US President Joe Biden held lengthy
talks over the phone call to discuss efforts to release of nearly 240 hostages
in Gaza, the White House said.
In a sharp instruction, the US told Israel that
patients inside the Shifa hospital ‘must be protected’.
“As we’ve said, we do not support striking a hospital
from the air and we don’t want to see a firefight in a hospital where innocent
people, helpless people, sick people trying to get medical care they deserve
are caught in the crossfire. Hospitals and patients must be protected,” a White
House official said.
Agency
