Israel has withdrawn its forces
from Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital following a two-week operation, leaving behind
scenes of devastation.
The Israeli military confirmed the
sudden pullback on Monday, saying it had completed operational activity in the area
of the hospital and claiming to have killed and captured
numerous Hamas fighters. Witnesses report a swath of death and destruction at
the medical complex, where a large number of displaced Palestinians were
sheltering.
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“Troops have completed precise operational activity in the area of
the Shifa Hospital and exited the area,” the Israeli military said.
The army launched the raid on
Gaza’s largest hospital, in the northern Gaza City, on March 18. It says it was
targeting Hamas fighters who were using the complex as a base.
Israel forces have made similar
claims throughout the war that broke out in October as they have besieged
several hospitals in Gaza. Hamas has denied operating from al-Shifa or other
health facilities.
Al-Shifa, which endured a previous
siege in November, now appears to be largely in ruins.
People are trying to salvage what they can, reports Al
Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul from al-Shifa, noting that the hospital was serving
as a shelter for displaced people, as well as housing numerous staff and
patients.
“There is no life here. The complex is in ruins and
cannot be revived,” he reports.
“Buildings in all departments have been burned, and the structure
of the complex has been damaged from the inside,” al-Ghoul continued. “From
what we can see, it appears the occupation forces deliberately targeted the
health sector and destroyed the largest medical complex in Gaza City.
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Israel’s military has described the raid as one of the most
successful operations of its war in Gaza, which has now run for nearly six
months.
It claimed to have killed many Hamas fighters, including senior
operatives. A spokesman said around 900 people suspected of being “militants”
had been arrested, and weapons, valuable intelligence, and over $3 million in
different currencies, seized.
The army also insisted that the
raid on the hospital had been conducted “while preventing harm to civilians,
patients and medical teams”.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera
that hundreds of bodies were found inside the complex and in surrounding
streets.
Video footage circulating online showed heavily damaged and
charred buildings, mounds of dirt that had been churned up by bulldozers and
patients on stretchers in darkened corridors.
Palestinians
inspect the damage at Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital [AFP]
On Sunday, the head of the World
Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 21 patients had died since
Israel began its siege.
During the previous Israeli raid in
November, the Israeli military had alleged that Hamas maintained an elaborate
command and control centre inside and beneath al-Shifa, showing video of a
handful of tunnels and rooms. Hamas has dismissed Israel’s claims, calling
them “lies and cheap propaganda”.
The war began on October
7 following Hamas’s offensive into Israel, which killed about
1,100 people and saw the armed group take nearly 250 people captive.
Israel responded with an air, land
and sea offensive that has killed more than 32,000 Palestinians, displaced most
of the territory’s population, and driven a third of its residents to the brink
of famine.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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