Hamas said on Monday the regime “has committed a new crime” by directly targeting al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City on Monday morning “without caring about the patients, medical staff and displaced people in it.”
It said “crimes” being committed by the regime are “an expression of its confusion and loss of hope in achieving any military achievement other than targeting defenseless civilians.”
Hamas criticized the international community and the United Nations for inaction, which, it said, was a green light to the regime “to continue the war of genocide and ethnic cleansing” in Gaza.
The resistance group urged international institutions to fulfill their responsibilities and protect the remaining medical facilities in the Palestinian territory.
The regime’s forces started an overnight raid on the hospital, Gaza’s largest, which has sheltered thousands of Palestinians who fled the war in northern parts of the territory.
According to witnesses, al-Rimal area of Gaza City, where the hospital is located, had been hit by airstrikes.
“Suddenly, we started to hear sounds of explosions, several bombings and soon tanks started to roll,” Reuters quoted a Palestinian man as saying.
“They came from the western road and headed towards Shifa, then sounds of gunfire and explosions increased.”
Witnesses described scenes of panic and unverified footage showed people attempting to flee along a street in the dark as Israeli forces started raiding the complex.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the raid had caused a fire at the entrance of the complex, resulting in cases of asphyxiation among displaced women and children in the facility.
The ministry said people were trapped inside the surgery and emergency units of one of the buildings, while communication had been cut off.
“There are casualties, including deaths and injuries, and it’s impossible to rescue anyone due to the intensity of the fire and targeting of anyone approaching the windows."
The ministry said the regime has committed “another crime against health institutions” in Gaza.
Israel drew widespread international condemnation after its forces raided the hospital in November 2023. Analysts say the new raid is a further illustration of the increasingly vexing problems the regime faces in Gaza.