Israel’s military withdrew from Gaza’s largest hospital early yesterday after a two-week raid, in which it said it killed about 200 militants and detained hundreds more.
Palestinian residents said the troops left behind several bodies and a swath of destruction.
The military has described the raid on al-Shifa Hospital as one of the most successful of the nearly six-month war.
Photo: AFP
However, it came at a time of mounting frustration in Israel, with tens of thousands on Sunday protesting against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Protesters urged the government to reach a ceasefire deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and to hold early elections. It was the largest anti-government demonstration since the start of the war.
The fighting at al-Shifa showed that Hamas can still put up resistance even in one of Gaza’s hardest-hit areas.
Among those killed in the raid were senior Hamas operatives and other militants who had regrouped there after an earlier raid in November last year, the military said, adding that it had seized weapons and valuable intelligence.
Israel’s top military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad group had established their main northern headquarters inside the hospital.
He blamed Hamas for the destruction, saying that some fighters had barricaded themselves inside hospital wards while others launched mortar rounds at the compound.
He said troops had arrested about 900 suspected militants during the raid, including more than 500 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, and seized more than US$3 million in different currencies, as well as weapons.
He denied that any civilians had been harmed by Israeli forces, saying the army had evacuated more than 200 of the estimated 300 to 350 patients, and delivered food, water and medical supplies to the rest.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed in the raid along with about 200 militants, the military said.
At least 21 patients have died since the raid began, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X late on Sunday.
He said more than 100 patients were still inside the compound, including four children and 28 critical patients.
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