The Israeli military launched on Monday (native time) an operation round Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, with witnesses reporting air strikes on the devastated neighbourhood the place it is situated.

Israeli troopers “are currently conducting a precise operation in the area of the Shifa hospital”, a press release from the army stated.

“The operation is based on intelligence information indicating the use of the hospital by senior Hamas terrorists”.

Witnesses in Gaza City advised AFP they noticed tanks encompass the hospital website.

Tens of hundreds of Palestinians displaced by the conflict have sought shelter within the advanced, in accordance with the Hamas-run well being ministry in Gaza.

The Israeli military had additionally carried out a November operation in Al-Shifa, sparking a global outcry.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of working army operations from hospitals and different medical centres, claims the militant group denies.

The Hamas authorities media workplace in Gaza condemned the operation, saying that “the storming of the Al-Shifa medical complex with tanks, drones, and weapons, and shooting inside it, is a war crime”.

The well being ministry within the besieged Hamas-run territory stated it had obtained calls from folks close to the hospital website who claimed there have been dozens of casualties.

“No one could transport them to the hospital due to the intensity of gunfire and artillery shelling,” the ministry stated.

The Israeli military has carried out a number of operations in and round medical amenities throughout the Gaza Strip because the begin of the conflict.

The war began when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack from Gaza on October 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, largely civilians, in accordance with an AFP tally of official figures.

Palestinian terrorists seized about 250 Israeli and international hostages through the October 7 assault, however dozens have been launched throughout a week-long truce in November.

Israel believes about 130 stay in Gaza, together with 33 — eight troopers and 25 civilians — who’re presumed lifeless.

Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has carried out a relentless bombardment and floor offensive that the well being ministry within the Palestinian territory says has killed at the least 31,645 folks, most of them girls and youngsters.

According to the Israeli army, troops “were instructed on the importance of operating cautiously, as well as on the measures to be taken to avoid harm to the patients, civilians, medical staff, and medical equipment” at Al-Shifa.

The assertion additionally stated Arabic audio system had been deployed with a view to “facilitate dialogue with the patients remaining in the hospital”.

It added, “There is no obligation for the patients and medical staff to evacuate.”

Following its November 15 operation on Al-Shifa, the Israeli army stated it had discovered weapons and different army tools hidden within the website — claims Hamas has denied.

It additionally claimed it had discovered a 55-metre tunnel within the basement and shared footage that it stated proved hostages had been held there, which Hamas additionally denied.

According to the UN, 155 well being amenities within the Gaza Strip have been broken because the conflict started.

‘WHERE SHOULD THEY GO?’

The Hamas-run well being ministry stated early on Monday that dozens of individuals had been killed throughout the Gaza Strip in a single day.

Over the weekend, 12 members of the identical household have been killed when their home was hit in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Palestinian lady Leen Thabit, retrieving a white gown from beneath the rubble of their flattened home, cried as she advised AFP her cousin was killed within the strike.

“She’s dead. Only her dress is left,” Thabit stated.

For a number of weeks, the main target of the conflict had been on southern Gaza, the place round 1.5 million individuals who have fled the remainder of the devastated territory have sought refuge because the begin of the conflict.

Allies of Israel, together with the US, have warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against launching a full-scale operation in Rafah close to the Egyptian border.

Rafah is the one city centre in Gaza the place Israeli floor troops have but to enter.

Visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz advised reporters that if such an offensive resulted in “a large number of casualties” it “would make any peaceful development in the region very difficult”.

Israel has insisted, nonetheless, that its conflict purpose of eliminating Hamas can’t be achieved with out working throughout the territory.

On Sunday, Netanyahu vowed civilians crammed into the south of the strip would be capable to depart earlier than troops enter in pursuit of Hamas terrorists.

The workplace of Netanyahu had on Friday stated he accredited the army’s plan for an operation in Rafah in addition to “the evacuation of the population”.

“Our goal in eliminating the remaining terrorist battalions in Rafah goes hand-in-hand with enabling the civilian population to leave Rafah,” Netanyahu stated at a press look alongside Scholz.

“It’s not something that we will do while keeping the population locked in place.”

As others have accomplished, Scholz raised the query, “Where should they go?”

‘OUT OF HARM’S WAY’

The US, which gives Israel with billions of {dollars} in army help, has stated it wished a “clear and implementable plan” to make sure civilians are “out of harm’s way”.

Gaza is dealing with the specter of famine, in accordance with the UN, and plenty of residents of the territory have confronted displacement a number of instances in latest months.

There has been no indication but of the place these crammed into Rafah might go, and any suggestion of Palestinian dispersal exterior the Palestinian Territories is extremely contentious within the Arab world.

A Hamas proposal for a truce calls for an Israeli withdrawal from “all cities and populated areas” in Gaza throughout a six-week truce and for extra humanitarian support, in accordance with an official from the group.

International envoys have been planning to fulfill in Qatar quickly to revive stalled talks for a ceasefire and hostage launch deal.

Israel plans to attend the talks, and a cupboard assembly meant to determine the delegation’s mandate happened on Sunday night time, Netanyahu’s workplace stated, although the result was not instantly recognized.

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