Israel forces search Gaza hospital as civilians stranded inside

Israeli forces were searching building to building at Gaza’s main hospital Thursday as Hamas said the military had “destroyed” parts of the compound where deep concern has mounted for the up to thousands of Palestinians trapped inside.

Soldiers raided the Al-Shifa a day ago in the hunt for a command centre they say the militants built below the complex, a charge denied by Hamas and leaders of the hospital that has become a focal point of the war.

The Israeli military said it found rifles, ammunition and explosives at the Gaza City complex, as well as computers and equipment containing “information and footage pertaining to the hostages” taken in Hamas’s shock October 7 attack on Israel.

“The soldiers are proceeding one building at a time, searching each floor, all while hundreds of patients and medical staff remain in the complex,” an Israeli army official said.

Ashraf Al-Qudra, spokesman for the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, told AFP Israeli troops “destroyed the radiology service, and bombed the burns and dialysis departments”.

“Thousands of women, children, sick and wounded are in danger of death,” he said.

Before Israel first sent troops into the hospital complex on Wednesday, UN agencies estimated that 2,300 patients, staff and displaced civilians were sheltering at Al-Shifa without enough food, water and fuel for generators.

Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas in retaliation for the attacks of October 7, which killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 people hostage, according to Israeli officials.

The Israeli military says 51 of its troops have been killed in Gaza since fighting began.

But with the Hamas government media office saying the death toll from the offensive has now topped 11,500, including thousands of children, calls for a truce are mounting.

Gaza’s 36 hospitals have been caught in the war, with more than half rendered non-functioning by shortages, combat and damage, the UN has said.

The Red Crescent said a “violent attack” was underway on Gaza’s Al-Ahli hospital, which was hit by a deadly strike on October 17.

Hamas blamed the blast on Israel, while Israel said a misfired Islamic Jihad group rocket was responsible, a position supported by US and some other western security officials.

“Israeli military tanks besiege Al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza, and violent attack is underway. (Red Crescent) teams are unable to move and reach those who are injured,” the group said on social media.