The Israel Defense Forces withdrew troops from the area surrounding Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital after concluding a two-week raid on terror groups using the medical complex as a command center.
Eyewitnesses returning to the area describe scenes of extensive destruction.
According to Mohammed Mahdi, who witnessed the aftermath, the area is in a state of “total destruction,” with several buildings burned down and multiple bodies observed.
Yahia Abu Auf, another resident, reported that army bulldozers razed a makeshift cemetery inside the hospital compound, leaving the situation “indescribable” and destroying the sense of life in the area.
The IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari previously stated that Hamas was utilizing Shifa Hospital for military purposes, including firing at troops from the Emergency Room and Maternity Ward and launching explosive devices from the Burn Ward.
He also mentioned that terrorists hiding around the hospital fired mortars at IDF forces, resulting in significant damage to hospital buildings.
Under international law, medical facilities are protected sites during conflicts, but they lose that status if used for military activities.
Israel contends that Hamas exploits such facilities for terror purposes and diverts humanitarian aid to support its fighters, thereby depriving civilians of essential supplies.
